June 3, 2015
Include China in 2016 RIMPAC Exercise: “Punishing” Beijing by Exclusion Would be Short-Sighted
by Doug Bandow
Last year China joined the Rim of the Pacific Exercise for the first time. There were 23 participants and six observers. RIMPAC began back in 1971 with just America, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand.
However, Beijing’s role has become controversial. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain recently opined: “I would not have invited them this time because of their bad behavior.” He pointed to aggressive behavior on the part of the People’s Republic of China in surrounding waters: “I don’t think there is any doubt about their territorial ambitions.”