The U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific international maritime exercise, or RIMPAC 2020, kicked off Monday (August 2020) in a scaled-back form with China conspicuously absent from the guest list, Asian Reviews reports.
The biennial drill — the biggest ocean exercise in the world — runs to the end of August in the seas near Hawaii. With 10 countries, 22 ships, one submarine and 5,300 personnel participating in offshore-only activities this time, it is greatly reduced in size from the 2018 edition, where 25 countries took part.