During RIMPAC 2014, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy sent its own uninvited spy ship to monitor the exercise – in addition to four other Chinese ships the U.S. invited to participate in the exercise. Russia has stationed a specialised spy ship off the coast of Hawaii with the specific mission to monitor the US Navy led ' Rim of the Pacific ' 2016 exercise says the US Naval Academy . Though its presence has not impacted on the exercise , it is considered unusual since actions like this have not been seen since the Cold War when Russian spy ships used to linger off the coast of the US to pick up signals of US intelligence agencies . Ever since the seizure of the Crimean region of Ukraine in 2014 , Russia 's Navy has been operating in an increasingly more aggressive stance .
Russia has stationed a specialised spy ship off the coast of Hawaii with the specific mission to monitor the US Navy led ' Rim of the Pacific ' 2016 exercise says the US Naval Academy . Though its presence has not impacted on the exercise , it is considered unusual since actions like this have not been seen since the Cold War when Russian spy ships used to linger off the coast of the US to pick up signals of US intelligence agencies . Ever since the seizure of the Crimean region of Ukraine in 2014 , Russia 's Navy has been operating in an increasingly more aggressive stance .