Story highlights Coast Guard commandant warns Russia is militarizing the Arctic and accused Moscow of "saber-rattling"

Two senators also link the need for a new icebreaker ship to Russian commercial activity in the region

Washington (CNN) Faced with a growing Russian military presence in the Arctic, U.S. leaders are calling for a new billion-dollar icebreaker ship.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, and Angus King, a Maine independent, and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft were among those calling for the advanced vessel at a recent event at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Zukunft warned that Russia was militarizing the Arctic and accused Moscow of "saber-rattling" by conducting unannounced military drills in the Arctic area involving thousands of troops.

Adm. Mark Ferguson, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, expressed similar concerns about aggressive Russian activity in the Arctic, noting that Russian submarine activity was at its highest point in 20 years.

He went on to compare Russian maneuvers in the Arctic with Chinese moves in the East and South China Seas, saying "Russia is watching what China does in the East China Sea with the 'nine-dash line' and is working to define what the continental shelf looks like, to establish a claim and declare its sovereignty."

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