US Coast Guard says it chased off Chinese icebreaker

WASHINGTON — The US Coast Guard “detected and responded to” the presence of the Chinese icebreaker and research vessel Xue Long 2 when it encroached on the United States’ extended continental shelf (ECS) north of Alaska, according to a service statement.

“A Coast Guard C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to the Xue Long 2, an icebreaker operated by the Polar Research Institute of China and 130 [nautical miles] inside the ECS boundary,” the service said in a July 26 statement. “The U.S. has exclusive rights to conserve and manage the living and non-living resources of its ECS.”

An extended continental shelf represents the geography extending 200 nautical miles from a nation’s shores over which it can claim sovereign control.

US Northern Command routinely announces when it detects Russian aircraft flying too close to the United States and intercepts them, but the Coast Guard’s detection and response to a Chinese ship is much less common.

A former Department of Homeland Security official told Breaking Defense the fact the USCG — not the DoD — responded to China’s actions matters because “it signals that the United States views this as a gray zone activity, not a military threat requiring escalation or a defense-oriented response.”

“When Russian aircraft approach the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, for example, NORTHCOM typically responds by scrambling jets or repositioning forces, which often results in military-to-military communication,” the former official said. “In contrast, this situation remains within the Coast Guard’s purview: observing, asserting legal authorities, and enforcing maritime norms without crossing into the defense domain.”

China in recent years has taken to calling itself a “near-arctic state” — a title rejected by the US and allies — and has ramped up its production and use of its icebreaker fleet. What makes Xue Long 2 uniquely different from the Russian military aircraft that NORTHCOM responds to is China’s dual use of its ships for both military and commercial purposes. During the Biden administration, Pentagon officials warned that China was using its ties to Russia to help bolster its claims as an Arctic state.

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The Global Times, a state news publication run by China’s ruling party, wrote in a July 27 article that the US “suddenly expand[ed]” its ECS by 1 million square kilometers in size.

“Such a ‘villain strikes first’ game and 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,” the publication wrote.

“The U.S. Coast Guard, alongside partners and other agencies, vigilantly monitors and responds to foreign government vessel activity in and near U.S. waters to secure territorial integrity and defend sovereign interests against malign state activity,” Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the US Coast Guard Arctic District, said in the service’s statement.

Cmdr. Samuel Blase, executive officer of the American icebreaker Polar Star (WAGB-10), called Xue Long 2’s “unannounced/seemingly unapproved presence” in American waters “concerning and outside international norms” in a LinkedIn post.

The Canadian military previously told Newsweek that it was “actively monitoring” Xue Long 2 as it transited Arctic waters from East Asia.