Canadian Warship Shadows Chinese Icebreaker into Arctic Waters [Video]

A Canadian warship tracked a Chinese icebreaker last month in the Bering Strait as China attempted to expand and reinforce its presence in the Arctic region.

Canada’s defense department confirmed to local media that HMCS Regina, a 4,795-ton Halifax-class frigate armed with missiles, “interacted safely and professionally” with the Xue Long 2, China’s first indigenous polar research vessel, as it transited the Bering Strait.

The strategic waterway lies between the Arctic Ocean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, while separating the Russian Far East to the west and Alaska to the east.

China has called itself a “near-Arctic state” and has two icebreaking polar research vessels in service, the Xue Long and the Xue Long 2. The latter, delivered in 2019, has a displacement of 15,421 tons and is capable of breaking …