The U.S. Coast Guard said it is monitoring five Chinese research vessels operating in or near U.S. Arctic waters, underscoring what the service calls a three-year rise in Chinese activity north of Alaska. A C-130J Hercules aircraft on 5 and 6 August identified the Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di transiting the Bering Sea, Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea, while the cutter Waesche was dispatched to shadow the latter ship. A third Chinese ice-capable vessel, the Xue Long 2, was tracked on 25 July about 290 nautical miles north of Utqiagvik on the U.S. extended continental shelf. Coast Guard officials said the deployments mirror last year’s simultaneous presence of three Chinese research ships north of the Bering Strait and follow the first joint Chinese-Russian coast-guard patrol in October 2024. The service, which coordinates with U.S. Northern Command and allies, stated that its responses aim to "defend sovereign interests and promote maritime conduct consistent with international law." China’s embassy in Washington said its ships are engaged in "normal maritime activities" permitted under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Washington is moving to strengthen its own polar posture. On 10 August the Coast Guard commissioned the 360-foot USCGC Storis in Juneau, the first U.S. polar icebreaker acquired in more than a quarter-century. Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said the Storis "immediately strengthens our ability to control, secure and defend the U.S. border around Alaska," while Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan called the vessel a "historic investment" in Arctic security. The Storis departed for patrol immediately after the ceremony and is part of a $25 billion modernization program that also funds new Polar Security Cutters. The Coast Guard maintains that it "remains ready to respond to adversaries operating in and around Alaskan and U.S. Arctic waters," even as NATO allies expand patrols and Denmark acquires long-range drones for regional surveillance. With receding sea ice opening new routes and resources, defense officials warn that competition—particularly involving China and Russia—is set to intensify across the high north.