China has “unprecedented number” of ships in U.S. Arctic waters, DHS says
The US military said it was taking a “strategic approach” to increase its presence in Arctic waters, after a report from the US Department of Homeland Security called China’s visibility in the area “unprecedented”.
“In 2025, an unprecedented number of Chinese military and research vessels operated in or near U.S. Arctic waters, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to respond decisively to defend U.S. sovereignty,” the report said. “This proactive stance reflects the U.S. administration’s renewed commitment to securing U.S. borders and interests, even in the remote Arctic region. However, the continued expansion of China’s icebreaker fleet poses a potential challenge to U.S. maritime sovereignty if future Chinese operations deviate from legal parameters.”
This year, the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new icebreaker built specifically to navigate ice-covered waters. The ship, called USCG Cutter Storis, was the first polar icebreaker acquired by the agency in more than 25 years, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Department officials said the Coast Guard “needs additional modern vessels” to defend national interests in the Arctic in the 21st century. That of President Trump Act on a big and beautiful bill allocated $8.5 billion to the United States to acquire icebreaking vessels in an accelerated manner, the ministry said, adding that a “workforce development plan” was implemented “to support the creation of a skilled workforce capable of designing and building complex icebreaking vessels.”
Homeland Security stressed that insufficient polar icebreaking capabilities could mean “ceding control” of the Arctic, “leading to increased security concerns, restricted access to Arctic shipping routes, loss of valuable resources, and diminished influence in shaping future Arctic policy.”
Chinese research vessels have appeared in U.S. territory in the Arctic more often this year than in previous years, the Coast Guard said. In August, the agency announced plans to increase its crews in U.S. Arctic waters as part of an effort to address the problem. “increased activity” by Chinese research vessels in this area.
This announcement follows another from the Coast Guard, which said in July that another Chinese-flagged research vessel had been detected off the coast of Alaska, in the North American Arctic. Coast Guard crews were monitoring the ship’s movements alongside the Canadian military, Canadian channel CBC News reported at the time.
