Various organizations in the Pacific countries have opposed the RimPac war exercises that the US is scheduled to launch in various parts of Asia and the US from June 29 to August 4. Among those opposing it are Filipino organizations based in Hawaii, where the bulk of the war games will take place.

RimPac (Rim of the Pacific) has been called the world’s “largest naval war games.” The US launches it every two years from the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. For this year, its islands will be inundated with 42 warships and the warplanes they carry, four submarines and tens of thousands of troops from 26 countries—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France , Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, UK, and US.

RimPac 2024 will be the 29th since it was first launched in 1971. The US started inviting the Philippines to the war game in 2022.

On April 10, CODEPINK, International Women’s Alliance, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and Resist US-Led War launched the Cancel Rimpac 2024 campaign. The groups are set to launch actions at the opening of the war games in June.

“The US is using RIMPAC to strengthen the capacity of its 26 military allies to launch wars of aggression in various parts of the world amid the growing possibility of war between major military powers,” the Cancel Rimpac Campaign stated.

“We reject the monstrous funds spending for warmongering while humanity suffers from the scarcity of food, water and other necessities of life,” according to the campaign.

Also, arms and oil companies profit billions of dollars from Rimpac and other war games where their weapons are showcased and peddled for purchase by US allies.

In addition, the presence of the US military in its islands is a violation of Hawaii’s sovereign territory, especially as it uses the island as a “launch pad for future wars.”

RimPac will also cause significant damage to the ecology and climate crisis in Hawaii and the entire Pacific Region, according to those opposing it. This is because the war games will include the sinking of ships using missiles that endanger marine animals such as humpback whales, dolphins and monk seals that live in the Hawaiian islands. Even the animals on the coasts where the “ground invasions” are carried out are affected. Military vehicles used here also leave behind toxic waste.

The Cancel RimPac Campaign consist of mass organizations from countries and islands in the Pacific such as Guåhan, Jeju Island, South Korea, Okinawa Island, Japan, Philippines, Northern Mariana Islands, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, Hawaii and mainland US.