At least five NATO members dispatched sea and air assets last month to track a pair of Chinese ships on a 13,000-nautical-mile round trip from the Horn of Africa to Russia.
Photographs released on Saturday by the British navy confirmed it had shared monitoring duties with Belgium and France as the Chinese destroyer Jiaozuo and supply ship Honghu sailed up the Atlantic into the Baltic Sea en route to St. Petersburg.
The Jiaozuo is a Luyang III-class destroyer, while the Honghu is a Fuchi-class replenishment ship. Both are assigned to China's South Sea Fleet on the South China Sea.
The ships, along with the Jiangkai-II class frigate Xuchang, have been deployed to the Gulf of Aden since February as part of the Chinese navy's nonstop anti-piracy patrols, which began in 2008.
The British Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond kept the 7,500-ton Jiaozuo and the 23,400-ton Honghu "firmly under surveillance" as they passed the U.K. twice in three weeks, the Royal Navy said, using the English Channel, the Dover Strait and the North Sea to reach Baltic waters.
Pictures taken from the deck of the Richmond and from its shipborne AW101, a torpedo-carrying anti-submarine helicopter also known as the "Merlin," showed the British warship shadowing the Chinese ships at a distance.
Also present at different points in the escort were the French navy's D'Estienne d'Orves-class patrol ship Commandant Blaison, and the Belgian navy's Castor-class patrol vessels Pollux and Castor, according to a news release.
Earlier in July, ship spotters watched the Chinese flotilla enter the Baltic Sea while followed by a Danish patrol boat.
The Jiaozuo was later pictured sailing into St. Petersburg and mooring at the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment on the Neva River before taking part in Russia's Navy Day parade on July 28.
Pictures released by Portugal's air force late last month indicated that it had also escorted the Chinese ships past its coast. Aircraft tracking data suggested a P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft out of the coastal town of Figueira da Foz was given the task.
Portugal said it has identified 15 Russian ships and two Chinese vessels in its exclusive economic waters this year.
China's Defense Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment before publication.
After departing St. Petersburg, the Chinese ships "made a beeline for the Dover Strait," the Royal Navy said. The waterway—17 nautical miles wide—separates the English Channel from the North Sea, and it is the shortest distance between England and France.
International maritime law allows coastal states to claim a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles from the shore. Foreign warships granted "innocent passage" through the waters are prohibited from firing weapons, carrying out surveillance or launching aircraft, among other activities.
Commander Richard Kemp, the Richmond's commanding officer, said in a statement: "Close monitoring of foreign vessels in U.K. waters is routine business for the Royal Navy and ensures their compliance with maritime law and respect for U.K. sovereignty."
"By maintaining a visible and persistent presence, the Royal Navy demonstrates our commitment to the NATO alliance and in maintaining maritime security which is crucial to our national interests," Kemp continued.
The two Chinese ships, which called at Morocco's Casablanca port en route to Russia, appeared to be heading back to the Gulf of Aden, where the lone Chinese frigate Xuchang remained on station, according to recent state media reports.
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