Chinese warships lurk on horizon as Obama winds up historic Arctic trip

Five Chinese naval ships have been spotted in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska – just as Barack Obama completes a historic visit to the state. It is believed to be the first time Chinese military vessels have been seen operating in the area. U.S. officials say they have been monitoring the ships’ activities but said they were operating in international waters. It comes as Mr Obama became the first sitting US president to touch down in the Arctic – and promised to save remote communities from the ravages of climate change.

We respect the freedom of all nations to operate military vessels in international waters in accordance with international law

US defence department spokesman Bill Urban

The three Chinese combat ships, a supply vessel and an amphibious ship were said to be moving toward the Aleutian Islands which is split between Russian and US control. It may reflect Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance on maritime territorial disputes, more commonly with Japan and South East Asian nations. As the ships were being watched, Mr Obama flew into the town of Kotzebue, a community of 3,000 people which is battling coastal erosion caused by melting ice and rising sea levels. After meeting Alaskans who told him their subsistence way of life was under threat, the president repeated dire warnings of the catastrophe awaiting the world if climate change was ignored.

If another country threatened to wipe out an American town we’d do everything in our power to protect it. Well, climate change poses the same threat right now

Barack Obama

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