Twenty-nine partner nations joined the 2024 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise near Hawaii — the most ever. Thirty-eight surface ships, three submarines, 14 land forces and about 170 aircraft from responsible nations are participating in the biennial event, themed “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.”
The United States again did not invite the People’s Republic of China (PRC) because of the Chinese government’s “reluctance to adhere to international rules or norms and standards,” Vice Adm. John Wade, U.S. 3rd Fleet and RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force commander, explained at an opening news conference in late June.
The U.S. invited the PRC in 2014 with hopes that “it might stop its militarization of the South China Sea and realize that engaging in great power competition was futile,” according to a 2014 report by USNI News, the U.S. Naval Institute’s online news portal.
At the time, the U.S.’s efforts to discourage the PRC’s bad behavior outweighed the risk of allowing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to observe U.S. capabilities and tactics in practice, USNI News reported. The PLA sent four invited ships and one uninvited spy ship in 2014. The U.S. also invited the PRC in 2016.
In 2018, however, the U.S. “disinvited” the PRC because the Chinese government continued to militarize artificial islands in the South China Sea.
Then-Department of Defense (DOD) spokesman Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Logan stated that “the United States is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific. China’s continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea only serve to raise tensions and destabilize the region. As an initial response to China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea we have disinvited the PLA Navy from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise. China’s behavior is inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the RIMPAC exercise.
“We have strong evidence that China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly Islands region of the South China Sea. China’s landing of bomber aircraft at Woody Island has also raised tensions,” Logan said.
“While China has maintained that the construction of the islands is to ensure safety at sea, navigation assistance, search and rescue, fisheries protection, and other non-military functions, the placement of these weapon systems is only for military use.
“We believe these recent deployments and the continued militarization of these features is a violation of the promise that [Chinese Communist Party General Secretary] President Xi made to the United States and the world not to militarize the Spratly Islands,” Logan said.
The PRC’s Ministry of National Defense responded in a May 2018 statement that “China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands and their adjacent waters of the South China Sea,” according to USNI News. “It is the natural right of China as a sovereign state to carry out construction activities and deploy necessary defense facilities on its own territory, which is also a necessary measure to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security and maintain regional peace and stability. It has nothing to do with ‘militarization’ and the U.S. has no right to make irresponsible remarks on it.”
The PRC’s statement, however, contradicts the 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, that rejected the Chinese government’s claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, ruling it has had no legal basis. The tribunal’s ruling also rebuked the CCP’s behavior in the South China Sea, including its construction of artificial islands in the region and in Philippine waters.
Since 2018, the PRC’s activities have remained “inconsistent with the principles, purposes and spirit of the RIMPAC exercise,” according to the DOD.
In the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Congress explicitly prohibited “the participation of China in any Rim of the Pacific naval exercise.”
The law stipulated that the secretary of defense could grant a waiver if it can be verified that the PRC has “(1) ceased all land reclamation activities in the South China Sea; (2) removed all weapons from its land reclamation sites; and (3) established a consistent four-year track record of taking actions toward stabilizing the region,” according to the DOD. None of these conditions have since been met, and the PRC has continued its aggressive behavior not only in the South China Sea but also globally.
On July 10, 2024, NATO leaders rebuked the PRC for helping facilitate Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concern over Beijing’s efforts to strengthen its relationship with Moscow.
“The PRC has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine through its so-called “no limits” partnership and its large-scale support for Russia’s defence industrial base,” stated a communique approved by 32 NATO members. “This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbours and to Euro-Atlantic security. … The PRC cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation.”
Wade said RIMPAC strives to strengthen relationships and interoperability with like-minded nations to enable them to work together to face adversity whether natural disasters or conflicts.
“Honestly, RIMPAC does not single out a particular nation or send messages to anybody,” Wade told reporters. “We’re really focused on enduring maritime force capabilities to ensure peace and prosperity in the vital Indo-Pacific region.”
RIMPAC 2024, which runs through early August, features multidomain warfare scenarios including anti-submarine warfare, multiship surface warfare, multinational amphibious landings, and multi-axis defense of the carrier strike group against live forces.
“RIMPAC offers a uniquely complex and challenging multinational environment for forces to train in areas where common national objectives overlap,” said RIMPAC coordinator Royal Australian Navy Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Gill. “Throughout the planning process we’ve built true partnerships based on mutual understanding and respect and expect that to continue during execution.”
