By COLIN CLARK
WASHINGTON: China, which continues to militarize the fake islands it’s creating in the South China Sea, may get uninvited to RIMPAC, the biggest naval exercise in the world.
Rep. Mark Takai of Hawaii told Defense Secretary Ash Carter during yesterday’s House Armed Services Committee posture hearing that he will introduce language into the House version of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act try to bar the Peoples Republic of China from the enormous naval exercise. How big is RIMPAC? In 2012, 42 ships from 22 countries took part.
But Congress remains deeply uneasy with China’s participation, especially in light of its actions in the South China Sea and the way it bullies the naval forces of US allies and partners in the region. The two top defense policy senators, John McCain and Jack Reed, are on the record opposing Chinese participation.
Read the full story at Breaking Defense