The U.S. Coast Guard tracked Chinese vessels traveling through a section of international waters in the Bering Sea recently, in the first such instance of 2026.
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The Coast Guard said in a statement Friday that its personnel monitored the Xue Long earlier in the week while the Chinese research ship moved through the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, an area about 200 nautical miles offshore where the U.S. has jurisdiction over natural resources.
The vessel was traveling over the American Continental Shelf in the Bering Sea headed for the Arctic and another China-flagged research vessel, the Xue Long 2, according to the Coast Guard.
Foreign ships are allowed to transit through the area but would need prior permission from the U.S. to conduct marine science research. They would also be required to share information they collected.
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The Coast Guard Cutter Munro monitored the two research ships as they continued north, part of what the Coast Guard calls Operation Frontier Sentinel, making sure they followed international regulations.
The military has seen increased foreign activity in the Arctic in recent years and expects that to continue in the summer of 2026.
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