US tracks Chinese ships heading into Arctic for first time in 2026

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter shadowed a Chinese ship bound for the Arctic this week — the first time this year that Chinese vessels have appeared in areas the U.S. has designated as within its extended sphere of interest, the Coast Guard said late Friday.

The Chinese research ship Xue Long transited north through the U.S. “exclusive economic zone” — known as the EEZ — and over the extended North American continental shelf in the Bering Sea.

The Coast Guard said the ship had the “declared destination” of the Arctic, where it would rendezvous with a second Chinese ship, Xue Long 2, another research vessel.

“In response, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro executed Operation Frontier Sentinel to actively monitor the vessels during their northbound transit,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “This operation is designed to protect American sovereign rights, ensure consistency with international law and position the Coast Guard to rapidly respond to any detected malign activity.”

The Exclusive Economic Zones of the United States are extended areas around the 50 states and overseas territories. (NOAA)

Under international law, foreign vessels are permitted to operate within the EEZ and over the U.S. extended continental shelf — an area that extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the North American shoreline. The Bering Sea is just south of the Bering Strait, the far north passage between Asia and North America.

“The Coast Guard remains vigilant to ensure their activities comply with established international law,” the Coast Guard said. “In particular, conducting marine scientific research within the U.S. EEZ and/or on the U.S. extended continental shelf would require advance permission from the United States and subsequent sharing of information collected.”

With climate change, the longer and warmer Arctic summers have revealed new and wider paths around the top of the Northern Hemisphere.

China and Russia have stepped up their military, commercial and scientific surface-vessel activity in the Arctic in recent years. They’ve held joint maneuvers in the Arctic region.

Russia and China have also probed the North American Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) around Alaska. Canada has its own ADIZ area as well. Though officially international airspace, NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canadian air defense command for North America, scrambles jets to intercept and identify foreign aircraft.

“The Coast Guard has observed heightened activity in the U.S. Arctic and anticipates continued and increased presence in the region this summer,” the Coast Guard statement said.

Congress has approved the construction of up to 11 Arctic Security Cutters to be built in the U.S. and Finland. The ships would quadruple the U.S.’s icebreaking capability, which currently has only three icebreakers in the Coast Guard fleet. Russia has dozens of icebreakers ranging from small port-clearing models to nuclear-powered large vessels. China has been building icebreakers since its 2018 policy declaration as a “near-arctic state.” China currently has five icebreaking ships.

Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District, said in the statement Friday that the U.S. expects the activity will get more frequent and require U.S. responses.

“Alongside the Department of War, the Department of State and our international partners, we are actively responding to competitor activities across an increasingly contested Arctic,” Little said.

USCGC Munro pulls into its homeport in Alameda, Calif., on March 1, 2026. Currently, Munro is patrolling in the Bering Sea. (Austin Wiley/U.S. Coast Guard)