The United States deployed four navy warships after Russian and Chinese naval forces conducted joint patrols near the Alaskan coast, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). At least 11 Russian and Chinese ships went close to the Aleutian Islands in the northern U.S. state of Alaska. The ships never entered U.S. territorial waters and eventually left. They were shadowed by four U.S. destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage foundation and retired navy captain, said, “Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan, this move is highly provocative.” Alaska’s Republican Senators added that this is a reminder of Alaska’s proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role that it plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC told the WSJ that the patrol was not targeted at Washington.