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US Coast Guard spots Chinese warships off Alaska
- Pentagon site says an advanced destroyer among four vessels seen near the Aleutian Islands last month
- Photos of ships taken down from site just hours after they were posted
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Four Chinese warships, including one of its most advanced destroyers, were spotted sailing in the waters off Alaska late last month as the Chinese navy steadily expands its range, according to photos posted on a Pentagon information service.
The photos taken by the US Coast Guard showed the four Chinese naval vessels shadowed by two US Coast Guard cutters in international waters within the US’ exclusive economic zone in the Aleutian Islands on August 29 and August 30, according to the Defence Visual Information Distribution Service.
According to the photo captions, the US and Chinese vessels had “safe and professional” interactions and their verbal communications were in accordance with international standards, including the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, a non-legally binding agreement to prevent clashes at sea.
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The Chinese vessels were a Type 055 destroyer, a Type 052D destroyer, a Type 815 spy ship and a Type 903 replenishment ship.
The photos were posted online on Monday and removed hours later.
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The Chinese defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
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