The Pacific Ocean off the shores of the US Hawaiian Islands is witnessing a military exercise known as the Rimbak maneuvers, the largest of its kind in the world, with the participation of 26 countries and hundreds of naval vessels and aircraft.
These naval exercises have been in the region since 1971 under the command of the US Pacific Fleet, and will mobilize about 25,000 soldiers, 38 ships, 4 submarines and more than 170 aircraft.
Lieutenant Andrew Lubin, captain of the Australian Navy's largest ship "Canberra", confirms that "the challenges posed by the RIMPAC 2022 maneuvers are the number of participants, and it is obvious that they are foreign navies, some of which we cannot work with much, and therefore the maneuvers motto is interoperability."
These multinational exercises allow the United States and its partners to mobilize different capabilities and learn about multiple military systems.
Although these countries assert that their maneuvers do not target China, they are taking place against the backdrop of existing tensions in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
China was one of the participants in the exercises, but withdrew from them in 2018 due to its actions in the South China Sea and the accusation of the United States of violating freedom of navigation.
Captain Jace Hutchinson, one of the participants in the exercises, says, "It has been going on for many years and now it is in its 28th edition, and although China was not invited to participate, many other countries have participated repeatedly over several decades and in this sense the RIMPAC maneuvers cannot be directed against China." ".
"They are joint exercises of partner countries, and when we train together, we always strive to defend the freedom of navigation and seas," he added.
This year's RIMPAC maneuvers witnessed several exercises, including training for Malaysian paratroopers on a landing scenario in which vehicles designated to transport troops from the sea to the shore are used.