The United States is bolstering its military presence in Alaska amid heightened Russian and Chinese activity off the coast, according to Politico. In recent weeks, the US has redeployed several assets, including the destroyer USS Sterett, while ground forces have been stationed on one of the state’s remote islands. Additionally, fighter aircraft and other airborne assets have been placed on heightened alert.
Last week, Business Insider reported that the deployment also included elements from the 11th Airborne Division supported by HIMARS missile systems and counter fire radars to monitor Sino-Russian naval exercises. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) expressed concern about an increase in Russian and Chinese military activities, stating that the number of assets employed has gone up significantly. It’s air, surface, and subsurface that the Russians are employing, but they’re doing it much more in a joint capacity with China than they’ve ever done. They’re clearly escalatory,” he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) suggested that Russia’s military activities may be a response to the US’ support for Kiev in its conflict with Moscow, adding that “they’re probably also trying to send a message to their own country.
In a separate incident on September 15th, two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers conducted a joint naval exercise near Alaska, practicing air strikes with air-launched cruise missiles on key facilities of a simulated enemy. This comes after Moscow announced in July that Russian and Chinese bombers were on a joint patrol mission in the same area, stating that the planes complied with all international aviation regulations while being shadowed by fighter jets from unnamed foreign countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov vowed that Moscow would protect its interests in the Arctic, saying that NATO nations appear to be eyeing expansion into the region.