What is happening?
On June 26th, the 29th edition of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise–the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise–kicked off in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Hosted by the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, RIMPAC 2024 featured the participation of seven European nations: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Notably, this enabled the participation of vessels that are homeported in both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic theaters. The growing confluence of strategic interests between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation (RF) exacerbates the urgency of recognizing the interconnectedness of security challenges encountered by allies and partners in both theaters, also prompting growing cooperation to ensure interoperability and bolster holistic, inter-theater approaches to fostering deterrence and resilience.
What is the broader picture?
The nature of RIMPAC, a major biennial exercise coordinated by the United States (US), has evolved dramatically over the past decade. In 2014, the PRC joined the exercise for the first time after then-US president Barack Obama extended an invitation to Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) during their inaugural meetings at the Sunnylands estate in California. While ties between Beijing and Washington were already strained at that time, the Obama administration saw “improving and strengthening the military-to-military relationship between the two countries and promoting the building of a new model of military ties between the two sides” as an essential tool for normalizing bilateral relations and safeguarding regional stability. While experts asserted that China’s participation in the 2014 RIMPAC was “more significant symbolically than practically,” it was an exercise in building mutual trust and prioritizing cooperation over competition when possible. The PLA Navy participated in the exercise again in 2016.
Fast forward ten years. Relations between the US and the PRC are arguably at an all-time low, and it would be difficult to fathom the presence of PLA vessels off the coast of Hawaiʻi. One explanation for Washington’s decision not to invite the PRC back is the growing belligerence of the Chinese state across the Indo-Pacific region, including building and militarizing more artificial islands in international waters, escalations in maritime disputes in the South China Sea – notably including physical violence targetted at a resupply mission by the Philippine Navy near the Second Thomas Shoal in June 2024 – and staggering grayzone activities around Taiwan. As a result of the PRC’s actions, the days of appeasement are over.
While China has not returned to Hawaiʻi to participate in RIMPAC since 2016, it is noteworthy that European countries are featured prominently. This reflects the zeitgeist: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), previously focused exclusively on security and defense of the Euro-Atlantic theater, is increasingly institutionalizing its partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, including its Individually Tailored Partnership Programs (ITPPs) with Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Despite the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion in Ukraine, Germany sent two ships (including one of the newest ships in the German Navy, the first of class F125 frigate “Baden-Wuerttemberg”) to the exercise as a part of its second Indo-Pacific deployment. Additionally, France is participating in the exercise with a vessel based in mainland France (the Brest-based Aquitaine-class FREMM Frigate Bretagne D655) for the first time, rather than with vessels based in Tahiti or New Caledonia as in previous editions of RIMPAC.
Why does it matter?
Despite the geographic distance, the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic theaters are highly interconnected. European countries, including France and the UK, have territorial interests in the Indo-Pacific theatre. At the same time, the UK and the Netherlands have previously announced plans to conduct regular naval deployments there. Consequently, it is pivotal that European countries demonstrate their commitment to working with allies and partners in the region to uphold peace and stability and safeguard the rule-based international order amid the growing assertiveness of aspiring regional authoritarian hegemons. RIMPAC exercises are pivotal in bolstering mutual trust between the participating countries.
This is particularly important this year ahead of consequential U.S. elections – the continued U.S. support for its European allies depends on their ability to put their money where their mouth is and increase their defense spending to make burden-sharing in collective defense arrangements more equitable. While participation in RIMPAC is not necessarily a stalwart of how European governments will act upon their respective power of the purse, it is indicative of their level of commitment to safeguarding peace and stability beyond the perimeter of our backyard. The solid European representation at the 2024 RIMPAC is a step in the right direction.
