Five Chinese ships in Bering Sea as Obama visits Alaska

[IceWizard]

Wed Sep 2, 2015 | 5:08 PM EDT
By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Five Chinese Navy ships are sailing in international waters in the Bering Sea off Alaska, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, in an apparent first for China's military that came as U.S. President Barack Obama toured the U.S. state.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said it was the first time the United States had
observed Chinese Navy ships in the Bering
Sea.

"We respect the freedom of all nations to
operate military vessels in international waters
in accordance with international law," Davis
said.

The appearance of the ships is an example of
the expanding reach of China's navy and
overlapped with a three-day visit by Obama to
Alaska as part of his efforts to raise awareness about climate change.

Two U.S. defense officials, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the United States
had identified a Chinese amphibious ship, a
replenishment vessel and three surface
combatant ships.

None of the ships had been seen acting in an
unprofessional or unlawful manner, the officials
said, adding that the United States had become aware of their presence in recent days.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said no
threatening activity had been detected, and
added that the Pentagon was monitoring the
movement of the ships "but the intent of this is
still unclear."

China has ramped up defense spending to
modernize its forces and wants to develop an
ocean-going "blue water" navy capable of
defending its growing interests as the world's
second-largest economy.

Melting sea ice has spurred more commercial
traffic and China has sought to become more
active in the Arctic, where it has said it has
important interests. Shorter shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean would save Chinese companies time and money.

It was not clear whether the presence of the
Chinese ships was timed to coincide with
Obama's visit or if it followed a recent Chinese-
Russian navy exercise.

While the world's two largest economies have
important mutual interests, like trying to rein in
North Korea's nuclear program, disagreements
exist between them including over China's
claims in the South China Sea.

China's military buildup, which includes developing stealth fighters and anti-satellite
missiles, has unnerved the Asia-Pacific region
and Washington, especially since President Xi
Jinping took office in 2013 and started taking a
tougher line on maritime territorial disputes.

Xi is expected to spend about a week in the
United States during the second half of
September.


(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Toni Reinhold)