Late last week, China staged a series of military drills in the skies and waters around Taiwan. Earlier this month, the United States led extensive exercises with the Philippines and other allies and partners.
And more military exercises are coming soon in the Pacific, including some touching Hawaiʻi.
For the first time, Japanese forces will take part in a sweeping U.S. military exercise known as Valiant Shield.
The event will stretch across much of the Pacific — from Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau to the Philippines and all the way up to Japan.
It starts at the end of next week and runs for about a week and a half. The U.S. military says about 10,000 personnel will take part.
On Friday, Japan's Defense Ministry said about 4,000 Japanese forces will be involved, along with some 60 aircraft.
Valiant Shield has been conducted every other year since 2006, and participants are growing.
Every other year is also the pattern for RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise.
This is a far bigger operation — the U.S. Navy calls it the “world's largest international maritime exercise.”
It puts the number of participants at more than 25,000 this year — from about 29 countries.
Hawaiʻi is the center of RIMPAC — which this year is expected to involve 40 surface ships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft.
RIMPAC gets underway the last week of June and goes through all of July and into early August.
