RIMPAC maritime exercise kicks off with 31 nations, 25K service members

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The world’s largest maritime training event kicked off Wednesday at Pearl Harbor.

Read more Lawmakers, department heads urged to disclose any ties to bribery probe

Forty maritime vessels and five submarines from 31 nations are gathered in waters off Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026.

There also 140 aircraft and more than 25,000 service members participating in this biennial exercise.

Military leaders say RIMPAC fosters a spirit of cooperation and inter-operability between the participating countries.

“Our theme this year is partners, integrated and prepared. The purpose of RIMPAC is to build on those relationships, improve interoperability, and enhance the readiness of participating forces to promote maritime security and regional stability in a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, commander of the RIMPAC combined task force.

Not everyone is happy about RIMPAC. A number of protesters gathered in front of Pearl Harbor to voice their displeasure about the training event.

“They’re testing bombs and methods of violence and lethality against the people of the world on occupied Hawaiian land,” said Ifit Hoppe-Cruz with the U.S. Out Campaign.

Read more Witness reports shark sighting at Fort DeRussy Beach

“RIMPAC needs to stop. It destroys our ocean. It harms our animals, our seals, our dolphins, our whales, the coral, the people, and it needs to stop,” Laulani Teale, another RIMPAC protester.

Adm. Jablon says everything that is done during RIMPIC takes into account environmental stewardship and cultural appreciation.

“We have extra watch standards on board our service ships to look for marine mammals. We stop our exercises if we have marine mammals in the area that don’t leave the area. On land, we abide by the cultural respect of those lands, and we don’t conduct operations on lands for cultural sensitivity,” he said.

Coming up in the next few weeks, there will be a number of military warfare operations on land and sea, as well as humanitarian and disaster response, diving and salvage operations.

At the forefront of it all, RIMPAC leaders say, is respecting the lahui.

“It is supremely important to me that we sustain and grow our trust with Hawaii and show a spirit of Aloha and maintain our welcome here. I can’t emphasize that enough,” said Capt. Brian Jamison, RIMPAC 2026 exercise director.

Read more Hawaii navigator earns international ocean stewardship honor