Our most recent post about the Navy’s biennial exercise, Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, garnered a quick reaction from Navy Times “Scoop Deck.”
While we are flattered, we had hoped our conclusion would have been the lead for discussion vice our playful nickname for the exercise.
As we wrote July 8 in “RIMPAC- Foreign Policy Tool or Snoozer?” RIMPAC is the largest exercise of its kind with 14 nations and 32 ships (don’t forget those five subs) and 170 aircraft playing in and around the warm waters of the Hawaiian Islands.
Our take: RIMP AC’s value lay more in the goodwill it may eek out than firing the big guns or training for the RIMPAC edition of Pirates of the Pacific Rim.
The U.S. has relationship challenges with a number of the RIMPAC nations. Japan is a good example. Relations over Okinawa, though recently improved, have been strained for quite some time. There has been tension between the two nations over the F-22.
News flash: The U.S. is not as popular as it once was with nations dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. The opportunities for discussions on the Navy’s role in U.S. foreign policy are endless. At least we think so.
Thanks for the nod, Navy Times. Let’s call RIMPAC for what it is — a great foreign relations opportunity.