Sen. Dan Sullivan tells the media, “We’ve moved into a new era of authoritarian aggression.”
This week, China and Russia worked together on a military operation near U.S. land. The media has learned that this made the U.S. Navy respond quickly.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, informed by U.S. security officials earlier this week, said that 11 ships were involved in the operation, which two major American enemies led. The ships were near Alaska’s southwestern coast. Sullivan said that in the end, the U.S. Navy sent out four warships to keep the Chinese and Russian vessels out of U.S. waters.
In a phone chat with the media late Saturday, Sullivan said, “This is a first in terms of the size and scope of this joint naval task force between Russia and China.” “Whether you live in Alaska like I do or on the East Coast of the U.S., a very large surface action task force from either of our two main enemies close to U.S. shores is scary.”
He said that it demonstrates that we’ve entered a new era of authoritarian aggression under the control of the more aggressive dictators in Beijing and Moscow.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to write about the joint action by China and Russia on Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal says the U.S. also sent P-8 Poseidon planes to keep the Chinese and Russian ships away from the Alaskan coast. This is in addition to the four warships sent to the area. The vessel got close to the Aleutian Islands, but it never went into U.S. seas.
Sullivan also said the American reaction was much better than in September when a similar but smaller event happened. On September 19, 2022, 90 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, the U.S. sent one Coast Guard cutter after seeing a Chinese-guided missile cruiser with two other Chinese ships and four Russian ships.
“We really stepped that up. There were four U.S. warships and P-8 aircraft that were keeping a close eye on this big Russian-Chinese task group. So that’s a big change for the better,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of naval power up here to show how strong the United States is.”
“I’m going to keep pushing for more Naval, Coast Guard, and Marine presence and assets in this part of the country,” he said. “Whether it’s the Obama administration, the Trump administration, or now the Biden administration.” “And the Biden administration as a whole needs to take defense budgets more seriously and make sure they are strong.”
When asked for a response, the White House didn’t answer immediately. The Pentagon told the media to ask the U.S. Northern Command for comment, but the U.S. Northern Command didn’t respond immediately either.
Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Wall Street Journal, “This is a first in history.” “This move is hazardous because of the war in Ukraine and the tensions around Taiwan.”
