The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a series of rare announcements in recent months regarding the detection of Chinese research vessels operating off the coast of Alaska, within a maritime zone known as the extended continental shelf.
Growing Concerns Over Chinese Presence in Arctic Waters
In July, the Coast Guard reported detecting a Chinese research vessel. This was followed by similar announcements in August, when five Chinese research ships were spotted, and again in September, with two Chinese-flagged vessels. The Coast Guard, in coordination with U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), has deployed units to monitor their activity.
Multiple officials, including the head of NORTHCOM, have confirmed that Chinese activities in and around U.S. waters have increased this year, continuing a trend that began in 2021. Analysts suggest that the Coast Guard’s public responses and objections are a deliberate strategy to deter Chinese activity in close proximity to the U.S.
„Not only is it testing the resolve of the US in this space, but it’s also trying to normalize presence,” said Daniel White, a former DHS official. „I think that is really what is important for [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and NORTHCOM and the Coast Guard, as far as naming and shaming.”
Extended Continental Shelf: A Gray Area
The issue is complicated by China’s selective use of the American extended continental shelf. Unlike U.S. territorial waters, an adversary’s presence on the water above the extended shelf may be provocative but not necessarily illegal, according to former officials. China has also indicated that it does not recognize U.S. claims to the region.
While every country has exclusive rights to resources within 200 nautical miles of its coastlines, the U.S. made a claim to an extended continental shelf in 2023 under the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). Though the U.S. is not a signatory to UNCLOS, it generally adheres to its principles for maritime conduct.
In response to the U.S. Coast Guard’s announcements, Chinese officials, via the state-controlled Global Times, have labeled the U.S.’s territorial claim as „unilateral.” The publication quoted a „Chinese expert” who claimed that the „hyping up of ‘China threat’ rhetoric is only to justify the US’ evil deeds in the Arctic, revealing itself as a rule-breaker and global troublemaker.”
Expanding Influence and Access
Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of NORTHCOM and NORAD, stated that Chinese military activity near Alaska has „increased significantly” in recent years.
„The increase in activity stems from China’s construction of new polar research ships and Beijing’s aim to expand its influence and access in the Arctic,” he said.
Guillot noted that the Chinese navy has sent a surface action group to patrol the Bering Sea annually since 2021, with two of those patrols conducted alongside the Russian navy. China also „conducted its first ever air patrol inside” the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in July 2024, when two H-6 medium bombers and two Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers flew over the Bering Sea together.
The Coast Guard has also acknowledged a „significant increase” in Chinese activity in Arctic waters near Alaska. A spokeswoman stated that the service’s response is part of Operation Frontier Sentinel, aimed at „counter[ing] malign activities, defend[ing] sovereign interests, and promote[ing] maritime conduct consistent with international law and norms.”
The Coast Guard’s press releases are „a proactive measure to inform the American public regarding the increase in activity in the Arctic and the Coast Guard efforts to safeguard our border security and territorial integrity,” she added.
While Guillot attributed China’s operations to a desire to expand its „influence and access” in the Arctic, the Coast Guard deferred questions about China’s motives to the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment.
A Measured Response
The type of response to perceived incursions is also important.
Since the ships spotted near Alaska were research vessels, presumed to be unarmed and manned by civilians, the Coast Guard responded. Former officials explained that the Coast Guard, as a law enforcement agency, is seen as less threatening than a Navy warship or fighter jets. Sending an armed warship to confront unarmed researchers could provide China with an opportunity to accuse the U.S. of escalating the situation.
White emphasized that the Pentagon’s responses on social media have amplified the Coast Guard’s message rather than issuing separate statements.
Legitimate Research or Something More?
Peter Brown, a retired Coast Guard rear admiral and senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute, noted that while foreign ships are allowed to transit and fish in an extended continental shelf, a country’s rights to resources in the area are not unlimited.
„It appears that these Chinese research vessels are researching the water column of those areas because that is not an area of exclusive US jurisdiction,” he said. They are claiming „not to be interfering with the sea floor rights that the US has in that area,” a claim Brown said he personally doubts.
He added that their activity is „very likely non-compliant with the rights that they have in that space.”
White suggested that China’s actions near Alaska are consistent with the gray zone tactics it frequently employs elsewhere in the world, providing an opportunity to test the waters.
„The Chinese are sending ‘research ships to prove a point… This isn’t to go all the way up the escalation ladder. I’m prodding, I’m probing, I’m testing, and let’s see what happens,'” White said. „That’s why the Coast Guard is so loud” in announcing its responses.
