Why is the US hyping up the "China Russia threat" in the Arctic region at this time? United States | Action | Foreign Media

The US media is hyping up the "China Russia threat" again, this time in the Arctic.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on the 5th, US officials reported that a joint Russian Chinese naval fleet was cruising in the waters near Alaska, and 11 Russian Chinese warships were sailing near the Aleutian Islands. The warships did not enter US territorial waters and then left. In response, the US military dispatched four destroyers and P-8 "Sea God" patrol aircraft to track the movements of the Russian and Chinese fleets.

According to reports, American experts have pointed out that this is currently the "largest" cruise fleet close to the US coast.

Screenshot of a report by The Wall Street Journal

"This is the first time in history," said Brent Sadler, senior researcher at the American Heritage Foundation and retired US Navy Colonel, considering the current international situation, "this move is extremely provocative."

The Governor of Chang'an Street noticed that this action, which is considered to be extremely provocative, is actually the third joint maritime cruise between China and Russia, and both sides have already released relevant information.

On July 26th, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced that according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries, the naval fleets of the two countries will conduct joint maritime patrols in relevant waters in the western and northern Pacific Ocean in the near future.

The message emphasizes that this action is not aimed at third parties and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation.

On July 28th, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian and Chinese naval fleets have begun their third joint maritime cruise in the Pacific Ocean.

The Chinese and Russian naval fleets are conducting joint maritime patrols. Video screenshot

Even the US Northern Command itself has issued a statement acknowledging that this Sino Russian joint cruise remains in international waters and is not considered a threat.

Although saying "it's not a threat", the US military has deployed a considerable amount of sea and air forces in response.

A Pentagon official said that the United States not only deployed four missile destroyers, including the John McCain, Benford, Chung Yun, and John Finn, but also dispatched P-8 Poseidon patrol planes to track the movements of Chinese and Russian warships.

Compared to that, in September last year, during the second joint maritime cruise between China and Russia, seven warships of the Sino Russian Navy Joint Fleet also went to the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, but only one destroyer from the United States Coast Guard was deployed at that time.

Compared to the US response during these two Sino Russian maritime patrols, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska believes that the US response in September last year was "lukewarm", while this year it has made a "strong response", encouraging the US to send a "stronger" message in the future.

In fact, the Bering Sea has become a normalized area for joint patrols between China and Russia. Why is the US reacting strongly at this time and hyping up the "China Russia threat" in the Arctic region? The Governor of Chang'an Street believes that there are at least two main reasons behind it——

Firstly, the United States is intensifying its Arctic strategy and using the "China Russia threat" as an excuse for military expansion.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the joint cruise of the Chinese and Russian navies is part of the "great power competition" in the Arctic region, which is increasingly becoming a disputed territory.

It is the United States that is intensifying military deployment in the Arctic region and exaggerating "great power competition".

In September 2022, the US Department of Defense announced the establishment of the Arctic Strategy and Global Resilience Office. In October of the same year, the US government released a new version of the Arctic National Strategy Report, which strategically planned for the US to enter the Arctic in the next 10 years.

The report described the growing strategic competition in the Arctic region, and claimed that it was related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and China's increasing efforts to gain influence in the region, while the United States sought to be in a favorable position in terms of effective competition and managing tensions.

The report proposes the "four pillars" of the United States' Arctic strategy, with security being the top priority, and other "pillars" including climate change and environmental protection, sustainable economic development, and international cooperation and governance.

Afterwards, the US military accelerated its military deployment in the Arctic region. At the beginning of this year, the US Air Force deployed four F-35A stealth fighter jets to Thule Air Force Base in Greenland, Denmark. This was also the first time the US military had deployed F-35 fighter jets at its northernmost base, and subsequently participated in a series of joint military exercises.

In June of this year, the Arctic Challenge 2023 exercise was conducted in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. To participate in this military exercise, the USS Ford aircraft carrier arrived at the port of Oslo, the capital of Norway, marking the first visit of a US aircraft carrier to Norway in 65 years.

On May 24th, the US aircraft carrier Ford appeared at the port of Oslo. In addition to military expansion, the United States also frequently brushes its presence at the diplomatic level.

In February of this year, US President Biden appointed Michael Slaga as the first US Ambassador to the Arctic. Slaga is considered an expert in Arctic geography and policy, and has served as the chairman of the United States Arctic Research Council.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in June during Norway's NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting that the United States would open a diplomatic station in the Norwegian Arctic city of Tromso. Tromso is located 350 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and is the largest port city in northern Norway. The station will become the northernmost diplomatic outpost for the United States in the world.

Secondly, the United States is increasingly viewing the development of China Russia relations as a threat to its hegemonic position, and is trying every means to smear China Russia cooperation, especially military cooperation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US officials believe that strengthening cooperation between the Chinese and Russian navies is aimed at "countering alliances between the United States and its partners in Japan, South Korea, and other regions.".

But it is not other countries that frequently gather allies to conduct large-scale military exercises in the Asia Pacific region, it is the United States.

From July 5th to 21st, the US Air Force Air Mobility Command organized the largest ever full spectrum combat readiness exercise - Mobile Guardian 23, with participation from countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and France, with over 3000 participants. The exercise extended from northern Australia to Hawaii, USA.

During the exercise, a senior US Air Force official publicly stated that the existing air transportation capacity is far from sufficient to carry out missions in the vast Indo Pacific region. To engage in combat with China, the US Air Force needs a brand new transport fleet consisting of various drones, stealth planes, and more.

The Mobile Defender 23 joint military exercise, led by the United States and Australia and known as the largest in history, the Escort Saber 2023, was held in northern Australia from July 22 to August 4.

For this exercise, the United States ostensibly claims to be cooperating with allies to jointly defend "security and democratic values," but its true intention is to win over and coerce allies to cooperate in its geopolitical confrontation with China.

On July 22nd, the "Escort Saber 2023" joint military exercise was held in northern Australia. The relationship between China and Russia is based on non alignment, non confrontation, and non targeting of third parties, and has independent and autonomous value. The United States, using its narrow and outdated Cold War alliance thinking to view military cooperation between China and Russia, naturally cannot make a correct judgment.

From July 20th to 23rd, the Russian military participated in the "Northern United 2023" exercise organized by the Northern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army of China in the central Sea of Japan. Both China and Russia dispatched more than 10 ships and more than 30 aircraft.

This exercise focuses on "maintaining the safety of maritime strategic channels" and conducts exercises around relevant subjects, followed by organizing joint maritime patrols.

Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, stated on July 27th that this fully reflects the level of strategic mutual trust between China and Russia, and further consolidates the traditional friendship between the two armies. China is willing to continuously strengthen practical exchanges and cooperation with all parties, and actively contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability and addressing various security challenges.

Foreign media: 11 ships participated in the joint operation between China and Russia

According to Fox News on August 5th, China and Russia conducted a joint naval operation in the waters near US territory earlier this week, which triggered a response from the US Navy.

According to the report, US defense officials reported this to Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska. According to Dan Sullivan, 11 ships participated in the Sino Russian joint operation, which is close to the southwest coast of Alaska. The US Navy dispatched four destroyers.

On July 20th, during the "Northern Joint 2023" exercise in a certain sea area of the Sea of Japan, the Chinese and Russian participating naval fleets conducted sea and air escort exercises.

Dan Sullivan said in an interview on the evening of the 5th, "From the number and scale of the joint task forces of the Russian and Chinese navies, this is unprecedented and the cooperation is very close. Whether living in Alaska like me or on the East Coast of the United States, our two main opponents form a very large surface operation task force, very close to the coast of the United States for exploration, which is very worrying."

According to the Wall Street Journal, in addition to mobilizing four destroyers, the United States has also dispatched P-8 "Sea God" maritime patrol aircraft to track Chinese and Russian ships. These Chinese and Russian ships only approached the Aleutian Islands and did not enter US territorial waters.