Russian and Chinese Warships Reach Alaska's Doorstep

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A fleet of Russian and Chinese warships has moved closer to Alaska during a joint patrol in the Asia-Pacific region, as Moscow and Beijing challenge the United States' military supremacy.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Northern Command via email for comment. The Russian and Chinese foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Why It Matters
Russia and China have deepened military ties under their "no limits" strategic partnership. The quasi-alliance has previously deployed a range of military assets—including naval vessels, strategic bombers, and coast guard ships—for joint patrols around Alaska, outside America's sovereign airspace and waters, which extend up to 13.8 miles from the coastline.
The presence of Russian and Chinese navies near Alaska comes as China sent five research vessels to Arctic waters around the state. It also comes ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting in Alaska on Friday, where the leaders are expected to discuss a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Russian and Chinese naval vessels take part in a naval war game near Vladivostok, Russia, on September 15, 2024.
Russian and Chinese naval vessels take part in a naval war game near Vladivostok, Russia, on September 15, 2024.
Vitaliy Ankov/Sputnik via AP
What To Know
Citing the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Tass news agency reported on Tuesday that Russian and Chinese naval vessels tasked with a joint patrol arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, to replenish supplies. The ships were docked in the Avacha Bay, which borders the port city.
The Avacha Bay is approximately 575 miles from Attu Island, the westernmost island in Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain. The Russian and Chinese ships will continue to sail along what the Russian Pacific Fleet calls the "pre-approved patrol route" in the near future.
Last September, U.S. warships were deployed in the Northern Pacific Ocean for homeland defense operations to protect Alaska as Russia and China conducted a joint naval patrol.
It remains unclear whether the patrol flotilla will transit northward to the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutian Islands, or head south near Japan following its stopover in the Avacha Bay.
According to the report, the ships were the Chinese destroyer CNS Shaoxing and the supply ship CNS Qiandaohu, as well as the Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs. They were spotted transiting off northern Japan on Friday after departing Vladivostok, Russia, for the patrol.
Main tasks of the patrol included conducting maritime surveillance and protecting Russian and Chinese "maritime economic activities," according to the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Earlier this month, the Russian and Chinese navies conducted the Joint Sea 2025 exercise near Vladivostok. Beijing said that the war game was an arrangement within the "annual cooperation plan" between the two militaries and was not targeted at any third party.
The Pacific Fleet's destroyer Admiral Tributs(564),the PLA Navy's comprehensive supply ship Qiandaohu and the destroyer Shaoxing(134) have anchored in Avacha Bay.After resupply,the ships will continue to move along a pre-approved patrol route.https://t.co/b9cO3QdBkR
📸Vladimirov https://t.co/PbDJGCfWYT pic.twitter.com/ypL7YKPhed — Massimo Frantarelli (@MrFrantarelli) August 12, 2025
What People Are Saying
The Russian Pacific Fleet, in a press release on Tuesday: "The first joint Russian-Chinese naval patrol in the Asia-Pacific region took place in 2021 and has been held annually since then."
Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry, at a press conference on Friday: "The Joint Sea exercise is an institutionalized cooperation program between the Chinese and Russian navies. Since its inception in 2012, the exercise has been held 10 times and has become a key platform for China-Russia military cooperation."
What Happens Next
It is unclear whether the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Coast Guard has deployed ships or aircraft around Alaska in response to the Russian and Chinese joint naval patrol.