The biennial gathering of international maritime forces known as Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), held June 29-Aug. 6, carried new significance this year.
The Navy’s fuel-spill crisis at Red Hill pushed the operation to test U.S. flexibility in fueling at sea. RIMPAC participants also built on international alliances to counter China’s influence in the Pacific, and the U.S. introduced a reenvisioned Marine regiment designed to create a more nimble and amphibious marine capability.
The operation showed that the Hawaii-based Pacific Fleet can operate and refuel independently of the Navy’s massive and obsolete fuel-storage depot at Red Hill. In fact, the Navy found that mobile fueling provided advantages in flexibility, while the military oilers and commercial tankers used for refueling are a more elusive target than a fixed-fueling operation.
It’s a welcome development, though overdue.
Vice Adm. Michael Boyle, leader of Combined Task Force RIMPAC, acknowledged that this advance in fueling capability was “forced” by the Red Hill disaster. Had the Navy been forward-thinking enough to transition away from Red Hill sooner, it might have avoided fuel leaks and a spill last year that contaminated drinking water for 93,000 people in military housing — and now threatens Oahu’s aquifers.
Another threat served as primary driver of this year’s RIMPAC: rising tension between the U.S. and China, which is increasingly competing with the West for worldwide military and economic influence.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan raised tensions with China even further, leading to aggressive Chinese missile tests near Taiwan’s ocean borders.
China, with a navy that is now reportedly the world’s largest, has built artificial reefs and islands in areas of the South China Sea, staking territorial claims and threatening geopolitical stability. And along South America’s Pacific Coast, massive Chinese fishing fleets have crossed into other countries’ territories, threatening fish stocks and ecosystems.
The U.S. has responded with a “doubling down” on diplomatic investment throughout the Pacific, as proclaimed yesterday by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman during a stopover in New Zealand.
For the first time, Ecuador participated in RIMPAC, as did every country along South America’s Pacific Coast. That followed a 2020 incursion by more than 300 Chinese-flagged vessels entering Galapagos Marine Reserve to fish illegally, prompting a standoff between Ecuadorean security services and the Chinese fleet.
Other Pacific participants experienced firsts during RIMPAC, as well: South Korea, Singapore and Australian commanders took charge of an amphibious task force and Sea Combat operations; and a Malaysian ship conducted its first live missile firing outside Malaysian waters.
In a reflection of RIMPAC’s significance, U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro stopped in Hawaii to observe the exercises, his first stop on a multinational tour of the Pacific.
This was also the first RIMPAC to incorporate units tied to the U.S. military’s strategic Force Design 2030 reorganization of the Marines, turning the Marines toward high-tech amphibious operations and cooperative maneuvers with the Navy. The restructuring is being implemented first in Hawaii.
Hawaii’s 3rd Marine Regiment has been transformed to the 3rd Marine Littoral (aka “coastal”) Regiment, and cooperated with personnel from nine countries to storm Pyramid Rock at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The RIMPAC exercises demonstrated efforts to expand the military influence of the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific, with new capabilities and technology. We can only hope that diplomatic efforts are pursued with equal vigor.
