The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) does not single out any particular nation, but is aimed at deterring invasions, and maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, a top US commander said on Thursday.
Vice Admiral John Wade, commander of the US 3rd Fleet, told a news conference at the launch of the multinational naval drills off Hawaii that RIMPAC aims to allow like-minded nations to operate together to handle crises ranging from natural disasters to armed conflict.
Wade, who heads this year’s RIMPAC joint forces, declined multiple requests for comment on Taiwan and its relationship with China.
Photo: screen grab from a video on Defense Visual Information Distribution System’s Web site
“RIMPAC does not single out a particular nation or send messages to anybody,” US military newspaper Stars and Stripes quoted him as saying. “We are really focused on enduring maritime force capabilities to ensure peace and prosperity in the vital Indo-Pacific region.”
However, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was not invited to this year’s exercises due to Beijing’s “reluctance to adhere to international rules or norms and standards,” he said.
RIMPAC, which began in 1971 and is held every two years, is the world’s largest international maritime exercises.
This year it involves 29 nations, which have collectively deployed 40 warships, three submarines, 150 aircraft, 14 land-based armies and 25,000 personnel, the US Navy said in a news release.
Participating militaries are from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the UK and the US, the US Navy said.
Aircraft including Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs, Boeing V-22 Ospreys and Boeing P-8 Poseidons would operate out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and US Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Oahu, it added.
In other news, Taiwan’s Tuo Chiang-class guided missile corvettes the An Chiang and the Wan Chiang are expected to be activated next week, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.
The ships would increase the nation’s Tuo-Chiang fleet from five to seven, concluding the navy’s plans for a prototype followed by an initial production run of six ships, the source said.
Chinese military drills near Taiwan have caused strain in the Taiwanese navy, the source said, adding that it might be forced into changing its plan for replacing the aging Ching Chiang-class with the Tuo Chiang-class on a one-for-one basis.
The Tuo Chiang, the lead ship of the fleet, and the prototype are armed with eight Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung III anti-ship missiles each, while the “flight one” corvettes utilize 16 Hai Chien II anti-aircraft missiles, eight Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and four Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles.
The planned “flight two” corvettes, to be completed in 2026, would each have four Hsiung Feng II and eight Hisung Feng III anti-ship missiles due to their envisioned role in surface warfare.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS