The U.S. military has been steadily building up its presence near Alaska, deploying a destroyer and a military base armed with a long-range missile system as tensions rise over growing Russian and Chinese military activities near the Alaskan coast, according to Politico .

Last month, the destroyer USS Sterett was sent to the coast of Alaska in response to Russian naval vessels operating in the region, troops landed on a remote Alaskan island, and fighter squadrons and other aircraft based in Alaska have been placed on heightened alert. .

The actions follow a series of Russian air operations in Alaskan airspace and as Russian and Chinese warships conducted joint exercises in the Pacific near Japan.

Moscow has begun to make a show of force in the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic, as its relationship with China strengthens in part thanks to the war in Ukraine. Largely without allies in Europe to work with, Russian ships and aircraft have carried out a series of large-scale exercises in the Pacific as Beijing and Moscow grow closer over the nations’ isolation from the international community, based on emerging economic ties. from international sanctions.

Lavrov: I am ready for a conflict with NATO

Russia’s foreign minister warns it is ‘fully ready’ for a clash with NATO in the Arctic.

“We see NATO stepping up exercises related to potential crises in the Arctic,” Sergei Lavrov said, according to Russian state media.

“Our country is fully prepared to defend its interests militarily, politically and from the point of view of defense technologies,” he added.

The Arctic includes lands owned by eight nations: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Canada, USA, Iceland and Russia. All but Russia are members of NATO.

Even so, Lavrov warned that “the Arctic is not the territory of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization” and said that other, non-Arctic countries, such as China and India, have interests there.

Concern is mounting in Alaska

Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) expressed deep concern about the situation, noting a significant increase in the scale and frequency of Russian and Chinese military activity in the region. Sullivan, who is lobbying military leaders to upgrade Alaska’s military infrastructure, stressed the importance of stability in the face of what he sees as aggressive moves by authoritarian regimes.

“The pace has picked up a lot,” the senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said in an interview. “It’s air, surface and underground that the Russians are using, but they’re doing it much more in a joint capacity with China than in the past. This is a clear escalation.”

In July, the North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted Russian and Chinese bombers flying just 200 miles off the coast of Alaska. It was the first time elements from both countries were intercepted while operating together, with aircraft taking off from the same Russian airbase. Sullivan noted the challenge posed by the distance, as U.S. fighter jets had to launch from an air base about 1,000 miles away, stressing the need for more infrastructure to support a faster response.

The new US moves for military deployment and better preparedness come amid repeated interceptions of Russian surveillance aircraft near US airspace and after the start of a massive Chinese/Russian exercise in the Sea of ​​Japan called Ocean 2024 involving dozens of warships and over 120 warplanes.

The US is not standing idly by

Elsewhere in the region, about 130 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne and the 1st and 3rd Multi-Area Task Forces sent units to Shemya in the U.S.-controlled Aleutian Islands about 1,200 miles west of Anchorage as part of a previously planned exercise that has take on new importance in the battle of developments in the region. The deployment includes a high-mobility artillery missile system retrieved from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington and radar to track aerial threats.

The destroyer Sterett, which left the port of San Diego earlier this month, this week docked at a rarely used port in Dutch Harbor, about 1,100 miles southwest of Anchorage in the Aleutian Islands, while on patrol in the Bering Sea.

A spokesman for the US Northern Command sent an emailed statement that the destroyer was “deployed to support the US Northern Command’s Maritime Defense mission in response to known Russian exercise in the area”.

The threat from Russian forces continues to evolve. On September 15, the US Coast Guard Stratton spotted four Russian navy vessels, including submarines and frigates, 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska. The Russian ships remained on the Russian side of the maritime boundary line while crossing about 30 miles within the US Exclusive Economic Zone in accordance with international law.

“This is an ongoing operation that we have put in place to ensure that our presence and to demonstrate the importance of US sovereignty,” US Coast Guard Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday said during a Senate hearing on Thursday, responding to Sullivan’s questions. Luday emphasized coordination efforts with Canada and the Northern Command to monitor the activity of Russian and Chinese forces.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (DR.I.) suggested that Russia’s increased activity near Alaska could be a direct response to Washington’s substantial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Reid said the maneuvers are likely aimed at sending a message not only to the US but also to the Russian public as President Vladimir Putin seeks to project power amid mounting domestic pressure on the faltering war effort.

“I think they’re probably also trying to send a message to their country,” Reid said. “Hey, you know the US can’t bully us.”

Navy spokesman Lt. Mohammad Isa said the Navy “frequently conducts exercises and operations in the North Pacific” and is “committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”