Concerns Over U.S. Reliability Shadow "Pacific Rim" Military Exercises

Reference News Network, August 4 report According to a report by the Wall Street Journal website on July 31, dozens of warships are docked closely together at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The largest among them is the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. Nearby, there is a Japanese destroyer equipped with the Aegis system, a South Korean tank landing ship, and a Canadian patrol submarine.

Record Number of Participants

This is the "Rim of the Pacific" military exercise, held every two years, and is the largest international maritime military drill in the world. This year's number of participating countries reached a new high, with 30 nations and approximately 30,000 military personnel taking part in the five-week exercise that concluded on July 31, practicing over 500 maritime scenarios and about 2,400 air sorties. The exercise included sinking two decommissioned U.S. warships.

The large-scale exercise allows participants to test new weapons, logistics systems, and command and control technologies.

The expanding scale and scope of the exercises indicate that, despite President Trump's harsh criticism of allies and threats to withdraw U.S. support, military cooperation between the U.S. and many partners—especially in the Pacific region—has been steadily deepening.

Multilateral exercises like the "Rim of the Pacific" provide the U.S. and its allies with an opportunity to practice joint operations.

The "Rim of the Pacific" exercise is the largest among the many joint military exercises led by the U.S. Pacific Command in collaboration with allies. However, it is not the only multilateral activity that is expanding in scale and scope.

Last year, during the biennial "Talisman Sabre" exercise held in Australia, the U.S. military conducted ground live-fire exercises of the mobile "THAAD" missile system for the first time outside of U.S. territory. From 2015 to 2025, the number of officially participating countries in the "Talisman Sabre" exercise has increased from 4 to 19. Earlier this year, during the "Cobra Gold" exercise in Thailand, the U.S. Space Force, specializing in satellite defense and electronic warfare, participated for the first time. This year's "Shoulder to Shoulder" exercise in the Philippines was about twice the size of four years ago, with 7 countries and over 17,000 military personnel participating.

U.S. Reliability Questioned

Indeed, concerns about U.S. reliability have overshadowed these exercises. Trump has questioned the U.S. commitment to alliances like NATO.

Jessica Taylor, a former U.S. Department of Defense official specializing in Asia-Pacific security issues, said that due to ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the U.S. has withdrawn some troops and military equipment from Asia, raising concerns about the U.S. military's ability to respond.

Taylor, who is currently a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council's Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, said, "If we don't know whether Trump and the U.S. will still be there tomorrow, why would we take the risk of confronting China?"

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also urged allies to increase military spending and pay more for the U.S. troops stationed on their territory.

Some allies are willing to meet U.S. demands. The Philippines is increasing its military spending. Manila has also sent its coast guard for the first time, being the only country besides the U.S. to do so.

The "Rim of the Pacific" exercise, initiated by the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet, began in 1971 with only 5 participating countries. This year, allies from around the world, including Italy, France, Singapore, and Peru, participated in the exercise.

The "Rim of the Pacific" exercise also serves as a testing platform for allied navies to understand how their warships can operate in conjunction with other vessels, unmanned vehicles, and jet fighters. Foreign navies can test new weapon systems at a maritime missile range north of Oahu, Hawaii—tests that they typically cannot conduct in their own countries.

Even as U.S. allies have enhanced their capabilities, some areas remain firmly under U.S. control. Throughout the "Rim of the Pacific" exercise, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier—referred to as the "Big Stick"—has always been at the core of the exercise. The number of active U.S. aircraft carriers is roughly equivalent to the total of all other countries combined.

This aircraft carrier can accommodate about 5,000 military personnel. Colonel Adam Bean, who manages the USS Theodore Roosevelt's air wing, pilots, and jets, said it can hold about 70 aircraft.

Bean said, "There are not many places we can't go. We have the capability to project power and presence." (Translated by Ge Xuelai)