CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The U.S. Kicks Off World’s Largest Naval War Games: RIMPAC, China, & the Cost of War

Photograph Source: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan Lavin – Public Domain

June 24 marked the start of the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the world’s largest international naval war games. Led by the U.S., the military exercises bring together 31 countries and include more than 25,000 personnel, 40 surface ships, 5 submarines, and 140 aircraft. The event, which will run until July 31, marks the newest escalation of U.S. preparations for war on China, further militarizing the Pacific and normalizing the prospect of conflict through increasingly large-scale exercises and an ever-expanding web of alliances and military bases.

At the same time, the U.S. and partner nations kicked off the ten-day Valiant Shield 2026 exercises across Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Japan, and surrounding seas, submerging the entire Pacific into an intensive military operation zone.

At a moment of intensifying climate disasters and growing economic insecurity, the message from Washington is clear: there is always more money for war. RIMPAC comes as Congress is attempting to approve a staggering $1.5 trillion war budget, even as communities across the world are facing deadly heat waves, floods, and other climate-fueled disasters.

This past week, while U.S. military vessels practiced war off their coasts, super typhoon Bavi pummeled Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Only a week into the typical typhoon season, this is already the second major typhoon to hit the islands. Many locals were still without power from the last super typhoon Sinlaku, which killed 17........

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