The U.S. Coast Guard reported on Monday that they monitored a group of Russian naval ships as they entered U.S. waters near Alaska in an apparent move to avoid sea ice, which is allowed under international regulations. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter crew witnessed the Russian military vessels crossing the maritime border and traveling 30 miles inside an area beyond U.S. territorial waters called the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The Russian ships included two submarines, a frigate, and a tugboat, according to a news release from the Coast Guard. This incident occurred around 60 miles northwest of Point Hope.
Rear Adm. Megan Dean mentioned that the Coast Guard is actively patrolling maritime boundaries in the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to safeguard U.S. sovereign interests, fish stocks, and support maritime conventions.
