What is RIMPAC? RIMPAC stands for Rim of the Pacific. Hosted by the 3rd Fleet, it is the largest maritime exercise in the world. Since 1971, RIMPAC has taken place every two years. RIMPAC 2018 brought 25,000 personnel from 25 countries to HawaiĘťi along with 47 surface ships, five submarines, and more than 200 aircrafts
What happens during RIMPAC? Live fire training on sacred ʻāina at Pōhakuloa. In 2018, the trainings set off a large brush fire that claimed 2,000 acres Amphibious assault exercises at Mōkapu, Waimānalo, and Nōhili.
What happens during RIMPAC? SINKEX trainings in which decommissioned ships are bombarded with missiles and torpedoes until they sink to the ocean floor just 55 miles from shore. EPA and Navy documents state that highly toxic chemicals are released into the marine environment as a result of sink exercises SINKEX trainings in which decommissioned ships are bombarded with missiles and torpedoes until they sink to the ocean floor just 55 miles from shore. EPA and Navy documents state that highly toxic chemicals are released into the marine environment as a result of sink exercises
What happens during RIMPAC? RIMPAC creates a boom for the sex industry and an increase in sex trafficking fueled by the militourism industry Military personnel enjoy “liberty options” in which they can consume Hawaiʻi as a tourist destination. They participate in tours, snorkel trips, surf lessons, and dine at local restaurants.
What has resistance to RIMPAC looked like? From 1980 to 1990, the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana and the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movements organized to stop RIMPAC bombardment of Kahoʻolawe. They succeeded in getting several countries to withdraw from the exercises, including Japan, Great Britain, and Australia. In 2013, Earthjustice represented environmental groups in a lawsuit against the Navy and National Marine Fisheries Service. The lawsuit cited the Navy’s own estimates that trainings off the coast of Hawaiʻi and Southern California kill approximately 155 marine mammals and injure roughly 2,000 in a five year period. In the resulting settlement, the Navy agreed to reduce active sonar use.
What has resistance to RIMPAC looked like? In 2018 The Hawaii Commission on the Status of Women launched a campaign against sex trafficking during RIMPAC, and a coalition of multiple organizations came together to protest in front of the headquarters of the Pacific Command.
Current status: Due to objections raised by the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Pacific Fleet has announced that RIMPAC 2020 will be modified. It will be postponed, shortened, and limited to atsea-only exercises. It will run from Aug 17-Aug 31. HEMA has announced that military service members on official business are NOT subject to the 14-day self-quarantine rule.
This isn’t enough. Here are some reasons why: At the most basic level, hosting war games in the midst of a pandemic is a gross misappropriation of resources. We should be actively working to save lives, rather than practicing how to take them.
The pandemic has led many leaders to call for cuts in global military spending. The UN has called for a global ceasefire. Nearly 2 dozen progressive Democrats in Congress have signed a letter to the House Armed Services Committee urging a reduction in defense spending during the coronavirus pandemic.
Even a limited RIMPAC will bring logistical support teams on land, and as we’ve learned from Guam, keeping sailors at sea isn’t safer. Ships are incubators for the virus. Forty US Navy ships already have confirmed cases of coronavirus and the Navy will not disclose which ones. The military has refused to disclose its COVID-19 data to the public in Hawaiʻi.
If an outbreak occurs at-sea during the exercises, sailors will have to disembark to be quarantined and to seek medical care. We know from the USS Theodore Roosevelt debacle in Guam that it is the people of Hawai‘i who will have to bear the burden of quarantining those sailors and personnel. According to a Navy Investigation, 60% of those tested on the USS Roosevelt tested positive for Covid antibodies. Nonetheless, the military quarantined its personnel in civilian hotels, ignoring warnings about the risk of infection for the people of Guam, especially low-wage hotel workers without health care. Guam now has 180 infected civilians, and 42 infected soldiers.
This risk is amplified with the recent announcement that all US military personnel traveling to Hawaiʻi on official business are exempt from the State’s 14-day quarantine rule. This means that hundreds of logistical support personnel will not be required to quarantine upon arrival. With shelter-at-home restrictions loosening across the state, we are also gravely concerned that these personnel will be permitted to engage in social activities and “liberty options” off-base.
We are concerned that an at-sea-only RIMPAC will intensify damage to our marine ecosystems. We are relieved that sacred lands like Pohakuloa will be spared from livefire trainings, but we worry that this will mean increased maritime exercises that will further harm marine life.
What we can do: Sign the petition! Follow us on Social Media (FB and IG). Call your representatives! If you are from a participating nation, write a letter to the government agency responsible for defense. Share our work with your networks Make art, write poems, sing songs, perform skits. Help us make this movement more vibrant + beautiful!
