国际英语新闻：Canada sends plane to monitor Russian nuclear submarines

OTTAWA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Canada has sent a surveillance plane to waters off its East Coast to monitor a pair of nuclear-powered Russian submarines in the area, military officials said Wednesday.

    The Russian submarines were first spotted on Aug. 5 in international waters off Georgia. It is believed the Akula II Class warships have since moved north, and remain outside of Canadian and American territorial limits, which extends 12 nautical miles into the ocean, the Canadian Press (CP) reported citing Canadian defense sources.

    A spokesman for Canada Command, the Ottawa-based military headquarters in charge of continental defense, downplayed the surveillance mission and refused to discuss details, describing it as "routine" for the patrol aircraft which have spent most of their nearly 30 year career as submarine hunters.

    On Tuesday, Canada's Defense Minister John MacKay said that the Russian submarines had not done anything threatening, but said it is all part of a pattern of "Russia flexing its muscle" on the world stage.

    "For a variety of reasons, to demonstrate our commitment to sovereignty, we're watching to ensure we know what is happening along our coastlines," he said in an interview with the CP.

    The excursion of the Russian submarines is the first of its kind since the end of the Cold War. It is viewed as another sign of stepped up Russian military activity in the Arctic region.

    The Arctic, with its prospective mineral wealth and ill-defined borders, has become an area of intense competition among Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark and other countries.

    Earlier this year, Canada announced it scrambled two fighter planes to intercept an approaching Russian bomber over the Arctic region.