Four Chinese navy ships arrived at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday as the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise gathers steam as the biggest ever held.
The missile destroyer Haikou, flying Chinese and American flags, pulled in at Kilo pier just before 9 a.m., while the hospital ship Peace Ark tied up at 9:45 a.m. The missile frigate Yueyang and supply ship Qiandaohu followed.
Everything about this year’s RIMPAC exercise — the 24th in a series that began in 1971 — which gets started Thursday and wraps up on Aug. 1, is extra big.
It’s the first time China is participating.
Two big hospital ships are part of the lineup — China’s Peace Ark and the U.S. Navy’s USNS Mercy.
Twenty-three nations, 49 surface ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate in war games, interoperability and humanitarian assistance exercises, and weapons-firing drills.
The unconventionally shaped aluminum trimaran USS Independence is coming, and so is a NASA Predator drone.
A huge amphibious operation — reflecting back-to-its-roots practice for the Marine Corps and a growing desire for seaborne insertion by other countries — is scheduled for late July at Bellows, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kahuku Training Area and the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.
Navy Region Hawaii warned that noise, crowds and traffic will increase through the end of July, but it will all come with a more than $52 million economic impact.
And, oh yes, some remotely operated garage doors might act up at homes around Pearl Harbor, the Navy said. Military radars or communications can cause interference by drowning out weaker signals, and the Navy said it is required to test surface search radars in port prior to getting underway.
Ships from Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and Brunei are among those already in Pearl Harbor, and the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is expected to arrive Thursday.
The bulk of the ship flotilla is sailing in on Wednesday.
Units from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, China, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States will participate.
Among those nations, China will be the subject of particular focus.
The growing power has rankled the United States and Asian nations for pushing maritime claims in the East and South China Seas. At the same time, China is seen as a future U.S. military opponent.
But both countries are trying to avoid the type of conflict that history suggests is inevitable between established and rising powers.
China sees itself gaining status with the United States and the international community by taking part in RIMPAC.
Participation in the drills "will certainly promote a new level of military relations in which both sides play the role of equals, geared towards cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes," Zhang Junshe, with the People’s Liberation Army Naval Military Studies Research Institute, wrote in an opinion piece.
Although the situation in Asia has become more serious, U.S. officials believe RIMPAC is a chance to work with China to develop better bonds.
"There is some indication that China is willing to be a positive, productive participant," Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, head of U.S. Pacific Command, said May 30 in Singapore.
