China Deploys Five Icebreakers Near Alaska to Monitor the United States

China has deployed five icebreakers near Alaska to monitor the United States.

The report comes from The War Zone.

The Chinese icebreakers were detected by the U.S. Coast Guard in international waters. Due to the concentration of forces, the American side has begun round-the-clock surveillance of them.

Initially, the U.S. Coast Guard detected two Chinese research vessels – Ji Di and Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di – in the Bering Sea on August 5. The following day, one of them was spotted in the Chukchi Sea, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of July, another vessel, Xue Long 2, was seen 466 km from Alaska.

The exact reasons for China’s icebreakers’ increased activity near the United States remain unclear. However, as noted by The War Zone, the melting ice is opening new maritime routes in the Arctic, making the region strategically important for trade and resource extraction.

China considers itself a ‘near-Arctic state’ and aims to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to shorten the journey from Shanghai to Europe by thousands of kilometers.

Additionally, this situation highlights the significant gap between the United States, Russia, and China. Currently, the U.S. only has two icebreakers capable of operating in the Arctic – USCGC Polar Star and USCGC Healy. In comparison, China already has five icebreakers in the region, while Russia has dozens.

Since the U.S. has not built new icebreakers in nearly 50 years and plans to commission new vessels only by 2029, the country is currently significantly trailing behind its competitors in the ‘Arctic race.’

To address the icebreaker shortage, the United States, Canada, and Finland have entered into an agreement called the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact).

This initiative involves the exchange of information, workforce development, and inviting allies to purchase icebreakers built at American, Canadian, or Finnish shipyards.

Recently, four major shipbuilding companies from these countries announced a partnership to rapidly produce icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Militarnyi previously reported that for the first time in 50 years, the U.S. Coast Guard had placed an order for the construction of a heavy icebreaker as part of its effort to update its fleet of such vessels.

The company that will build the icebreaker for the U.S. is Bollinger Shipyards, which has facilities in Seattle, Washington.