Sino File | By snubbing China in Rimpac, US plays a dangerous war game
Observers speculate the US is fortifying a coalition with an aim to contain China’s rising clout. If they are right, Beijing’s increasingly assertive foreign policy could prove one of its greatest diplomatic failures
China’s exclusion from – and Vietnam’s inclusion in – this summer’s Rim of the Pacific naval exercise (Rimpac) is not just a diplomatic snub – it’s the kind of slight that could have deep and dangerous geopolitical repercussions. The US-led Rimpac, which started in late June and lasts until early August, is a biennial military exercise often referred to as the world’s largest war game. This year, it brought together the navies of 26 nations for exercises spanning a huge swathe of ocean from the Hawaiian islands to southern California.
It offers a unique opportunity for militaries from Pacific Rim countries to train and work together to maintain peace and stability in the region. Also, the games are seen as a way of ensuring open access to important shipping lanes in the western Pacific’s increasingly contested waters.
In the lead-up to the 2016 Rimpac, the Obama administration had considered disinviting China due to its construction of artificial islands in the Spratlys. The islets are contested by Beijing and six others, including Taipei, though an international tribunal has ruled against Beijing’s claims.