The Pentagon reacted with a yawn Tuesday to the presence of a Russian Navy surveillance ship spotted off the coast of Delaware.
“We are aware of the vessel’s presence. It has not entered U.S. territorial waters,” said Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson, Defense Department spokeswoman.
“We respect freedom of navigation exercised by all nations beyond the territorial sea of a coastal state consistent with international law.”
The Russian ship was sailing about 50 miles beyond U.S. territorial waters, which extends 12 miles from shore.
The ship was identified as the SSV-175 Viktor Leonov, a Soviet-era intelligence gathering vessel. Fox News reported the ship’s presence on Tuesday.
Russia sends spy ship near US coast, deploys banned missiles at home, officials say https://t.co/oy9heahMu4 via @LucasFoxNews pic.twitter.com/j6qR6m4EoX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 14, 2017
It’s not unusual for Russian ships to patrol off America’s east coast, and for Chinese spy ships to cruise around Hawaii and the West Coast.
The U.S. has been making a point of conducting “freedom of navigation” missions by sailing U.S. warships to challenge Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea that extend beyond the 12-mile limit.
