Aleutian Islands Standoff as U.S. Faces Off Russian-Chinese Navy in Alaska

The United States deployed four destroyers and a P-8 Poseidon aircraft last week to monitor eleven Russian and Chinese ships close to the Aleutian Islands, off the coast of Alaska, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

The Russian-Chinese Navy ships represented the largest such flotilla to approach American shores though the vessels never entered U.S. waters and have since left the area, according to the WSJ.

The Aleutian Islands, comprised of 14 large islands and 55 smaller islands, mostly belong to the U.S., but some belong to Russia. The Aleutian Islands and Alaska are geographically close to both China and Russia, a position that makes the state exposed to geopolitical tensions between Moscow, Beijing and Washington.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command confirmed to the WSJ that Russia and China conducted a combined naval patrol operation near Alaska, but did not specify how many ships were involved or exactly where they were deployed.

"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 spokesperson said.

Newsweek reached out to China and Russia's Ministries of Defense for comment via email on Monday.

On August 4, Russia's Defense Ministry published a press release that said the Russian and Chinese ships had practiced joint tactical maneuvering, conducted communications training, and carried out helicopter landings and take-offs from the decks of each others' ships. It said that the crews had traveled over 2,300 nautical miles since the start of the patrol mission, but did not mention the Aleutian Islands specifically.

Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported on July 28 that "the warships of Russia and China" were involved in joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean aimed at "strengthening the naval cooperation between Russia and China, maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, monitoring of offshore zones and guarding Russia and China's objects of maritime economic activities."

Tass reported that the Chinese Defense Ministry also confirmed the joint operation, saying it was not "directed against third parties and have nothing to do with the current international and regional situation."

Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski issued a joint statement on Saturday saying they had been "in close contact with leadership from Alaska Command for several days now and received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels that are transiting U.S. waters in the Aleutians."

"This is a stark reminder of Alaska's proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role our state plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty," Murkowski said.

"Incursions like this are why we are working so hard to secure funding and resources to expand our military's capacity and capabilities in Alaska, and why our colleagues must join us in supporting those investments."

Sullivan said he was "heartened" to see that the government's response was to send four U.S. destroyers, "which sends a strong message to Xi Jinping and [Vladimir] Putin that the United States will not hesitate to protect and defend our vital national interests in Alaska."

Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the WSJ that the Russian-Chinese flotilla's proximity to U.S. waters was a "historical first" and a "highly provocative" operation.