US Military Responded To Chinese And Russian Warships Near Alaska

A warm welcome awaited them.

A naval patrol of Russia and China consisting of several vessels was operating near the coast of Alaska last week, according to defence officials and US lawmakers, СNN reports.

According to a US Northern Command spokesperson, the "show of force" caused a retaliatory action by the US military, but did not pose a threat to the US or Canada.

NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command deployed planes and ships to monitor the Russian and Chinese patrol, which stayed in international waters, the spokesperson said

Alaska’s Republican Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski said that a total of 11 Russian and Chinese vessels had been operating near the Aleutian Islands, and were met in response by four US Navy destroyers.

Murkowski said that she and Sullivan had been in “close contact with leadership from Alaska Command for several days now and received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels that are transiting U.S. waters in the Aleutians.”

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement that “according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian armed forces, the warships of the two countries recently conducted “joint maritime patrols in relevant waters in the western and northern Pacific Ocean.”

“This action is not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,” he said.

Sullivan stated that he was "heartened to see that this latest incursion was met with four U.S. Navy destroyers."

“This sends a strong message to Xi Jinping and Putin that the United States will not hesitate to protect and defend our vital national interests in Alaska,” Sullivan said.