More than 1 000 Canadian sailors, soldiers, airmen and airwomen will participate in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world’s premier combined and joint maritime exercise, from June 26 to August 1, in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
Canadian participation underlines the strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific region, of increasing national interest in the area, and of building interoperability with like-minded military forces.
This year, the Royal Canadian Navy will send Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships Calgary, Victoria, Nanaimo, and Whitehorse, as well as a clearance dive team.
General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “As a Pacific nation, Canada is committed to working with our partners in the region to be ready to respond to events across the spectrum of safety, security and defence missions. This exercise provides us with an excellent opportunity to build on our readiness, and to ensure that we have the right mix of people, equipment, and resources, and the requisite training in place to meet the tasks assigned by the Government of Canada.”
Twenty-three nations, 47 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25 000 personnel in total will participate in RIMPAC 2014.
This year’s exercise includes forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States. Of note, this year is the first time that Brunei and the People’s Republic of China will participate in RIMPAC.
RIMPAC is a biennial exercise that aims to foster multinational cooperation and trust, enhance interoperability, enable professional engagement and achieve national objectives, with the collective purpose of building capable and adaptive partnerships.
[mappress] Press Release, May 13, 2014; Image: Canadian Navy