The U.S. Coast Guard encountered a Russian ship near the Aleutians last week, less than a month after identifying Chinese military ships in the region.
The Coast Guard said Friday that the cutter Alex Haley identified a Russian Federation Vishnya-class naval vessel on Aug. 5. The Soviet-era ships were built for intelligence gathering, but are armed with weapons including surface-to-air missile launchers.
The Coast Guard said it spotted the Russian ship near Atka Island in the central Aleutians. It was traveling in the United States’ exclusive economic zone, a large area extending 200 nautical miles off the U.S. coast. The zone is considered international waters but the United States maintains authority over resources in the region.
The Alex Haley is one of the Coast Guard’s larger cutters and is home ported in Kodiak. It followed the Russian ship as it passed through the region but did not communicate with it.
The Haley’s lead officer, Cmdr. Steven Baldovsky, said the crew “met presence with presence to ensure there were no disruptions to U.S. interests.”
Both the Russian and Chinese navies have shown a regular presence in the Aleutians in recent years, and the Pentagon is raising the alarm about the two nations’ increased cooperation in the Arctic.
