The U.S. Coast Guard says Chinese research ships are operating in U.S. Arctic waters more frequently than in previous years, prompting an increased American presence in the region.
Two Chinese research vessels—the Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di—were recently detected traveling northeast across the Bering Sea, according to the Coast Guard. A C-130J Hercules aircraft from the Kodiak, Alaska, station identified the ships last week, and the cutter Waesche later intercepted the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di in the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle. That vessel, flagged in Liberia, is operated by China’s Sun Yat-Sen University.
The Coast Guard is currently monitoring five additional Chinese research ships in or near the polar region. The agency said the increased activity is part of a three-year trend, noting that three Chinese research vessels conducted operations north of the Bering Strait last year.
The recent encounters follow a July incident in which the Coast Guard deployed a C-130J Hercules to track the Xue Long 2, a China-flagged ship operated by the Polar Research Institute, detected roughly 290 nautical miles north of Utqiagvik, Alaska.
The Coast Guard, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement it will maintain an active presence in the U.S. Arctic to monitor the uptick in foreign research vessel operations.
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