RIMPAC 2022 Will Include All 4 Quad Nations And 5 South China Sea Countries

RIMPAC 2016 

CNN: World's largest naval exercises to include all 4 Quad nations and 5 South China Sea countries 

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)The 2022 edition of the world's largest naval war games, the Rim of the Pacific exercises, will feature key US partners from around the globe, including India, Japan and Australia -- who have joined Washington in the Quad group -- and five nations bordering on the South China Sea, one of the world's most turbulent areas for military tensions. 

In total, the exercises, based in Honolulu and San Diego, will see military units from 26 countries participating from June 29 to August 4. They'll employ 38 surface ships, four submarines and 170 aircraft in the exercises, the US Navy's 3rd Fleet said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Around 25,000 personnel will participate, including ground troops from nine countries.  

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WNU Editor: China will be having its own exercises .... China Plots Fresh Military Exercises in South China Sea (Defense Post).

RIMPAC 2022 Will Include All 4 Quad Nations And 5 South China Sea Countries  

US prepares for RIMPAC exercise against backdrop of Russian, Chinese tensions -- Breaking Defense  

Navy ready for Rim of the Pacific exercises, world's largest maritime drills -- Washington Times  

US to be joined by other Quad members, South China Sea nations for Rimpac -- SCMP 

S. Korea sends largest-scale naval fleet to US-led exercise -- National Thailand  

Japan Announces Indo-Pacific Warship Deployment Ahead of U.S.-led RIMPAC Exercise -- USNI News

Watch Three Anti-Ship Missiles Rip Through The USS Durham During RIMPAC NAval Exercises Off The Coast Of Hawaii

Warzone/The Drive: Watch Three Anti-Ship Missiles Rip Through USS Durham During RIMPAC Sinking Exercise

The Navy's big RIMPAC drills may have been dialed back this time around, but its highly anticipated SINKEX event certainly wasn't.

Even though this iteration of the biennial Rim Of The Pacific (RIMPAC) international naval exercises off Hawaii is smaller than in years past, the highlight of the drills, where a real ship is sunk with live weaponry, wasn't dropped from the program. For the sinking exercise, otherwise known as SINKEX, the ex-USS Durham, a mothballed amphibious cargo ship that was pulled from service in 1994, was the target. The Navy has released the first video of its demise, which appears to show a succession of no less than three anti-ship cruise missiles ripping through the ship's hull and detonating, along with a showering of shrapnel or submunitions from another weapon.

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WNU Editor: The RIMPAC exercise are ending today.

Here Are The 50-Plus Ships That Participated In This Year's U.S. Navy Pacific Wargames

Popular Mechanics: Here Are the 50-Plus Ships That Participated in the Navy's Pacific Wargames

It’s hard to fit 50-plus ships into a single shot, but the U.S. Navy tries anyway.

The highlight of the American-led Rim of the Pacific exercises (other than the ones that involve sinking vessels) is the international parade of ships. Held at the conclusion of each RIMPAC, the parade is a sweeping view of ships from 25 nations across the Pacific Rim. This year more than 50 naval vessels participate in the exercise, including 46 surface ships and five submarines.

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WNU Editor: Impressive video.

Multinational RIMPAC Exercises Begin Off The Coast Of Hawaii

Popuar Mechanics: China's Not Coming to America's Big Pacific War Games This Time

But 52 ships, 18 armies, and 26 countries are participating in this year’s RIMPAC.

The world's largest (and longest-running) multinational naval exercise began its 2018 edition yesterday, June 27, in Hawaii and southern California.

The 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, hosted by the United States military, is drawing visitors from 25 countries across Asia and the Pacific. But one previous attendee is noticeably absent from this year’s war games: China.

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More News On This Year's Multinational RIMPAC Exercises Beginning Off The Coast Of Hawaii

US trying to make friends, counter China with massive naval exercise -- Brad Lendon, CNN
RIMPAC 2018 Begins, But Without China -- Maritime Executive
RIMPAC, the world’s largest maritime exercise, underway at Pearl Harbor -- Honolulu Star Advertiser
What Will It Take for the PLAN to Come Back to RIMPAC? -- The Diplomat

A Case On Why China Should Not Have Been Excluded From Naval Exercises By The United States

SCMP: Pentagon must think again about war games snub to Chinese navy

As a fast-rising naval power, China should not have been excluded from the exercises by the United States as they are an opportunity for the two nations to cooperate and ease tensions.

China has been excluded by the United States from taking part in the world’s largest multinational navy exercises as a penalty for claimed militarising of the South China Sea.

Beijing sees its deployment of missiles, placement of military equipment and landing of bombers on artificial islands in the region as necessary to protect sovereignty.

With American warships and surveillance vessels regularly traversing the waters, the latest on Sunday involving a destroyer and a cruiser near the Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands, there is every need for the sides to engage to prevent mishaps. Kicking the People’s Liberation Army Navy out of a process meant to build trust and cooperation is short-sighted.

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WNU Editor: I disagree. When China was invited to the RIMPAC exercises in 2014, the hope then was that this would foster better relations between the two countries. The opposite has happened ....  and I fail to see how participating in this year's exercises would change anything.

Pentagon Kicks Out The Chinese Navy From Participating In 2018 RIMPAC Exercises

The People’s Republic of China Chinese Navy multi-role frigate Hengshui (572) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) transit in formation during Rim of the Pacific 2016 on July 28, 2016. US Navy photo.

Washington Times: Pentagon kicks Chinese navy out of massive maritime wargame in the Pacific

Pentagon officials have kicked out the Chinese navy from participating in the world’s largest annual maritime military exercise in the Pacific, citing Beijing’s continued militarization of territories in the hotly contested South China Sea.

Chinese forces along with the U.S. and 27 other countries in the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, exercises for the last several years in an effort to bolster military ties between Beijing and Washington. The exercises had been viewed inside the Pentagon as a high point in U.S.-Sino relations, with both countries touting the drills as a vital bridge to future avenues of military cooperation.

But China’s relentless efforts to deploy advanced weaponry onto man-made islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea, despite calls from the U.S. and the international community to cease its efforts, prompted Washington to take action.

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WNU Editor:  China is not an ally, and it is clear that past naval exercises where the Chinese were invited have not changed their policies or behavior.

More News On The Pentagon Kicking Out The Chinese Navy From Participating In This Year's 2018 RIMPAC Exercises

China Disinvited from Participating in 2018 RIMPAC Exercise -- USNI News
US disinvites China from multinational military exercise -- AP
Pentagon pulls China's invite to Pacific naval exercises -- AFP
China 'disinvited' from major US military exercise over South China Sea -- CNN
US rescinds invitation to Chinese navy to participate in major Pacific exercise -- Stars and Stripes
Time to Counter China and Rebuild the US Navy? -- The Diplomat