A
combined Russian and Chinese naval force patrolled near the coast of
Alaska earlier this week in what U.S. experts said appeared to be the
largest such flotilla to approach American shores.
Eleven Russian
and Chinese ships steamed close to the Aleutian Islands, according to
U.S. officials. The ships, which never entered U.S. territorial waters
and have since left, were shadowed by four U.S. destroyers and P-8
Poseidon aircraft.
“It is a historical first,” said Brent Sadler,
a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a retired Navy
captain. “Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around
Taiwan, this move is highly provocative.”
A spokesman for the
U.S. Northern Command confirmed that Russia and China had carried out a
combined naval patrol near Alaska, but didn’t specify the number of
ships or their precise location.
“Air and maritime assets under
our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United
States and Canada. The patrol remained in international waters and was
not considered a threat,” the command said in a statement.
The
USS John S. McCain, the USS Benfold, the USS John Finn and the USS
Chung-Hoon responded to the flotilla, tracking its movement, a U.S.
defense official said. The four destroyers were in addition to the
American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
The joint
Russian and Chinese naval patrols are part of a broader great power
competition in the Arctic, which is increasingly becoming contested
territory.
U.S. officials also see the increased cooperation
between the Russian and Chinese navies as a bid to counter U.S.
alliances with Japan, South Korea and other regional partners.
Joint
Russian and Chinese “exercises have increased, their operations have
increased. I only see the cooperation getting stronger, and boy that’s
concerning. That’s a dangerous world,” Adm. John Aquilino, who leads
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said last month while speaking at the Aspen
Security Forum.
U.S. officials have been nervously closely monitoring signs of increased military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.
Anonymous
5 comments:
The evil empire has conducted many equivalent patrols in the South China sea and Straits of Taiwan and that's ok???
The Russians and Chinese should next conduct similar patrols in the international waters of the Gulf of Mexico and then pay a courtesy call in Cuba. Dock and relax for a few days for the crew to enjoy nice Havana cigars.
I am going to say that eventually when Chinese in China farts, the USA will go hysterical and calls it provocation as well.
The USA claims it upholds the believe in and is protecting the 'Freedom of Navigation' of the seas, but does not practice what it preaches. Why can't Russia and China hold naval exercises in International Waters near Alaska? Every drill conducted by Russia and China is hype up as a threat, even on their doorsteps.
Brian Berletic puts it in perfect perspective, on The New Atlas site, that the USA warns South East Asian countries of Chinese coercion, then coerces South East Asian countries to follow its anti-China agenda. If ASEAN fails to realise the USA hypocrisy, it speaks volumes of the kind of leadership leading the bloc.
ASEAN depends on China more than the USA and moreover, during its five thousand years of history, did China invaded any ASEAN country? Compare that to the Anglo Saxon White's evil deeds - Britain colonising India, Holland (The Dutch) colonising Indonesia, Spain colonising the Philippines and later coming under the USA, Portugal colonising Malacca and later came the Brits taking control of the whole of Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore, and France colonising Indo-China. All these are in recorded history. Which country in ASEAN has never tasted Western colonialism? Which country in ASEAN has China ever colonised or exerted its rule over? So ASEAN needs to tread carefully.
In retrospect, it was the Anglo Saxon Whites, together with Japan, under the Eight Nations Alliance, that even wanted to colonise China during the 1900's. That is why Asian countries must be extremely wary of Japan, the 'Asian Pariah' that had always colluded with the Whites to control the region. This was apparently clear with their alliance with Germany and Italy to form the Axis Power, the only Asian country selling out to the Whites. Today, it is still siding with the Whites in the hope of ruling China, their grand plan during WW2. That is a hallucination of epic proportions in today's context.
Yes, Russia and China, perhaps roping in Iran, could hold a naval exercise in International Waters off the Gulf of Mexico and that would be timely. Throw in a 'rest and recreation' stopover in Cuba, like what the USA does in many parts of the world. What is wrong with that?
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/politics/china-south-america-caribbean-us-military/index.html US Southern Commanders indicated that China activities in Mexico and Latin America are stepping on Redlines. That how panicky are USA.
World heading toward multipolarity, US must get used to it
Nothing can better describe the US' reaction than "nonsense" to the China-Russia joint patrol near Alaska. The US could not even defend its own logic. If the China-Russia joint patrol was in international waters, how can it be viewed as a "provocation" or "aggression"?
The China-Russia joint patrol are exercising true freedom of navigation, because they have not intruded any other country's waters, unlike the US.
The most ridiculous part is that three of the four destroyers, dispatched by the US to monitor Chinese and Russian ships, namely the USS John S. McCain, the USS Benfold, and the USS Chung-Hoon, have trespassed into Chinese territorial waters without permission.
What qualifies the US, the redline breaker, to accuse China and Russia, who have been following international laws in the patrol? The US' response is equivalent to a high-profile declaration that the entire Pacific Ocean is an American lake. So, who is really the authoritarian aggressor?
Over the past years, the US has repeatedly trespassed into the territorial waters or adjacent waters of Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea and has continuously stirred up troubles and instability in the Indo-Pacific region. The US is the biggest threat to international maritime security and the world's security. US politicians should feel ashamed for their gangster logic. They are basically saying that Chinese and Russian navies should stay in their ports while the US Navy can roam the world and establish military bases wherever and as many as they want.
The Pacific Ocean is vast enough to accommodate the peaceful coexistence of different countries. It doesn't belong only to the US, and the US doesn't have the final say for the region.
It is hoped that one day when the Chinese and Russian navies pass through the Panama Canal or the Caribbean Sea, the US will uphold the same "freedom of navigation" standards as how it views its warships' operation in the South China Sea.
The world is heading toward multipolarity, and the US will only find out that its hegemony and authoritarian control over the world will face more and more questioning and challenges. The US will have to get used to it sooner or later.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/07/chinese-soldiers-pledge-to-sacrifice-their-lives-in-documentary-on-taiwan-invasion
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