In the News June 22

2022 Rim of the Pacific War Exercises

Oppose U.S.-Led War Preparations in Asia Pacific! Oppose Canada’s Participation!

The 2022 edition of the U.S.-led war exercises Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is taking place from June 29 to August 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The U.S. Navy says the aim of the war exercises is for “a network of capable, adaptive partners [to] train and operate together in order to strengthen their collective forces and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. RIMPAC 2022 contributes to the increased interoperability, resiliency and agility needed by the Joint and Combined Force to deter and defeat aggression by major powers across all domains and levels of conflict.”

To be clear, the “free and open Indo-Pacific” includes the East Sea (South China Sea), India’s territorial waters, the Strait of Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula. These are all regions where the U.S. and its allies including the UK and Canada have given themselves the right to transgress the national waters of sovereign countries, marauding in the name of upholding unjust and illegal sanctions and interfering in their internal affairs and the aspirations for peaceful relations between peoples and countries.

This is the 28th time the exercises have been held since 1971. Twenty-six countries are taking part[1] with 38 surface ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and land forces from nine countries, with a total of 25,000 personnel.

The U.S. Navy describes RIMPAC 2022 as “the world’s largest international maritime exercise.” It says, “Participating nations and forces will exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the inherent flexibility of maritime forces. These capabilities range from disaster relief and maritime security operations to sea control and complex warfighting. The relevant, realistic training program includes amphibious operations, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as counter-piracy operations, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, and diving and salvage operations.”

Protest in Hawai’i against RIMPAC 2018

As has been the case in previous years, anti-war activists are opposing RIMPAC 2022. In Hawai’i, the Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-Violent Education and Action, in its call to oppose the war exercises, states:

“Let’s be clear. War, weapons, and machinery of war are very profitable for corporations. The National Priorities Project (NPP), an initiative of the Institute for Policy Studies, now estimates that $21 trillion (not $8 trillion as others have stated) has been spent by the U.S. in ‘foreign and domestic militarization’ in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Hawai’i sees a lot of that militarization and war money. RIMPAC 2022 is coming to Hawai’i. […] RIMPAC usually involves bombing and shelling of Pohakuloa in the center of Hawai’i Island.

“Join the call to Cancel RIMPAC and establish a demilitarized Pan-Pacific Zone of Peace. Redirect the massive expenditure of funds from war-making to serve humanity suffering from lack of food, water, and other unmet human needs amid a global pandemic, and expanding climate catastrophe. No More War and Training for War! Restore the Pacific as an Ocean of Peace!”

Note

1. The full list of countries participating in RIMPAC 2022 is: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

TML Daily, posted June 22, 2022.