US Cutter Encounters Chinese, Russian Navy Vessels During Bering Sea Patrol - Coast Guard

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) The US Coast Guard said on Tuesday that its Cutter Kimball encountered Chinese and Russian naval vessels during a routine patrol in the Bering Sea.

"The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea encountered a People's Republic of China Guided Missile Cruiser, Renhai CG 101, sailing approximately 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island, Alaska, September 19, 2022. The Kimball crew later identified two more Chinese naval vessels and four Russian naval vessels, including a Russian Federation Navy destroyer, all in a single formation with the Renhai as a combined surface action group operating in the U.

S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)," US Coast Guard said in a statement.

As a result, the Kimball crew is now operating under Operation Frontier Sentinel, which is designed for situations when strategic competitors operate in and around US territorial waters, it added.

The US Coast Guard said that the Kimball will continue to monitor activities in the area to ensure the safety of US vessels and international commerce there. "We will meet presence-with-presence to ensure there are no disruptions to US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska," Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander Rear Adm. Nathan Moore said.