The China Coast Guard cutters Meishan and Xiushan slipped into port on Oct. 17, ending a dramatic 35-day deployment that brought them from the East China Sea to the Sea of Japan, the North Pacific, the Bering Sea, and, ultimately, the Arctic Ocean — and back again. The deployment, which occurred as part of a bilateral engagement with the Russian Maritime Border Guard, made news in China for two main reasons, both superlatives. It marked the first time that the two coast guards had ever