RFE/RL originally published this article.
In October 2024, the US Coast Guard spotted two Chinese maritime enforcement vessels operating alongside a pair of Russian border patrol boats as they transited the Bering Sea, just kilometers from Alaskan waters.
It was the third consecutive year that a joint Russian-Chinese military convoy sailed through the strategic waterway. A year earlier, the two nations staged joint naval exercises in the region with 11 ships — a clear signal of their growing military cooperation near US territory.
The October transit, which China said continued through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean, came less than three months after the first joint flight of Chinese and Russian strategic bombers over the Bering Sea.
The uptick in Russian and Chinese activity near Alaska — home to America’s largest fleet of advanced fighter jets and a cornerstone of its missile defense architecture –is fueling calls to reestablish Cold War-era military infrastructure on the Aleutian Islands.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 10 that he supports reopening the shuttered naval facility on Adak Island and upgrading Eareckson Air Station on Shemya, the westernmost outpost of the chain…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (alaskabeacon.com)
Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)
Be First to Comment