As this year's Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) war games approach, various groups have called upon the U.S. military to cancel the games.
Anakbayan Hawaiʻi, an organization that promotes national democracy in the Philippines, is one of the groups part of a protest to cancel the biennial exercise.
"The coalition that is currently being built is kind of a continuation of the decades of work that has already been done by Kānaka Maoli activists, folks who stand in solidarity against the military occupation in Hawaiʻi," said Misty Pegram of Anakbayan Hawaiʻi.
The local campaign is supported by another international campaign to cancel the world's largest international maritime exercise.
"The goal in this campaign to cancel RIMPAC. We see it as a manifestation of the U.S. militaries who want to know this idea of constantly being ready for war, and where their idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific is not aligned with what a free and open Indo-Pacific actually is," Pegram said.
The RIMPAC war games have been held since 1971, as it enters its 29th year. The event involves 29 nations and more than 25,000 personnel,
according to the U.S. Navy.
RIMPAC is scheduled to take place from June 27 to Aug.1.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 18, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
