Although US military leaders in the Pacific are focused on China, the Russian military has shown increasing interest in the Pacific.
US military officials confirmed Tuesday that there is an « irregular air patrol » of three F-22 aircraft from Honolulu was connected to a major Russian military exercise off the coast of Hawaii this weekend.
The Russian Navy is conducting what Russian officials call their largest exercise in the Pacific Ocean since the end of the Cold War. The exercise, which takes place approximately 400 miles west of Hawaii, includes a variety of warships, anti-submarine aircraft, fighter jets, and long-range bombers.
US military officials confirmed that the F-22 was on Sunday in response to Russian bombers, approaching American airspace was disrupted even though Russian fighter planes did not actually enter Hawaii airspace and the American jets later returned to base.
« US. The Indo-Pacific Command is monitoring the Russian ships, that operate in international waters in the West Pacific, « said Captain Mike Kafka in an email. » As part of our normal day-to-day operations, we closely track all ships in the Indo-Pacific area through sea patrol aircraft, surface vessels and joint capabilities. «
The Russian exercise takes place when President Joe Biden travels to Russia for a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it’s Biden s first meeting with Putin since his inauguration in January.
Hawaii is a major hub for US military operations. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based at Camp Smith, Oahu, oversees all operations in the Pacific Ocean, much of the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Arctic.
Although this meant that most of the attention is on China and North Korea, Russia, which maintains its own Pacific fleet, has a keen interest in American capabilities in the region, especially as the US Navy is increasingly including the Arctic in its planning.
Melting polar ice caps have opened new trade routes between Europe and the Pacific, as well as potential underwater energy resources who are desperate to secure Russia and China.
American fishermen in the Arctic and North Pacific have reported increasing interactions with Russian military ships and aircraft, occasionally confrontational.
Last month, the US Pacific Fleet was tracking a Russian spy ship, the Kareliya stationed in Vladivostok, which weighs around 24 kilograms ometer west of Kauai.
Kauai is the location of the Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, which is used by the Navy and Missile Defense Agency to test missiles. The presence of the Kareliya caused the American commanders to postpone a missile test. A Russian spy ship was also in Hawaiian waters in 2016 to oversee the biennial U.S. naval exercise Rim of The Pacific.
However, while the U.S. military says it is closely monitoring these activities, the lie most within the limits of international law. The US military also frequently moves ships, and sometimes trains, near Russia and China.
“We operate in accordance with international maritime and air law to ensure that all nations can and do the same without fear or argument to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific, ”said Kafka. « As Russia operates in the region, it is expected to do so in accordance with international law. »
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