END RIMPAC
SIGN ON LETTER
SIGN ON LETTER
Addressed to Governor Josh Green, Hawai'i Congressional Delegation, countries participating in RIMPAC and others:
Aloha Kākou,
We, the undersigned, exigently request that the Rim of the Pacific Exercises (RIMPAC) be terminated immediately and permanently, that damage done by these exercises since 1971 be cleaned up, that the areas used be fully decontaminated and restored, and that the lands leased to the U.S. military be returned in healthy, safe condition immediately upon the expiration of the current leases.
Our request to those to whom this letter is addressed is to:
Sign this letter.
Work in whatever capacity you hold to bring an end to RIMPAC and clean up and restore all damaged areas.
Demilitarize and Deoccupy Hawaiˈi within your capacity to do so.
Demand return of all lands currently leased by the U.S. Military, and provision of money owed for full restoration and healing of all damage.
Work to bring an end to U.S. aggression worldwide, and the use of Hawaiˈi in such aggression without the consent of Kanaka ‘Oiwi.
Implement Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in all undertakings, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Stand against countries actively engaged in genocide and other serious human rights violations like Israel and the U.S. by clarifying that they are NOT welcome in Hawaiˈi while they are committing such atrocities. Hold governments like Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and several other participants in RIMPAC responsible for their human rights violations.
End all military war games in Moana Nui, the Pacific Ocean.
Work toward actual World Peace through diplomacy, problem-solving and peacebuilding, rather than aggressive military escalation, imperialism and genocide.
Stand with us in building a healthier, peaceful future for humanity and our beloved Earth, in which future generations will thrive together with respect for the land, sea, fresh water, living beings, human rights and consent as our foundation.
While there are too many objections with the RIMPAC exercises to list, some of our main areas of concern are the following:
Harm to the Public,
especially Women, Children and Māhū:
Sex trafficking increases dramatically during RIMPAC. This means children, women and māhū (transgender people) are being used for sex every RIMPAC season by some of the 25,000+ troops participating in RIMPAC, whose sexual appetite is so notorious that strip clubs hang “Welcome RIMPAC” banners outside their doors during the exercises. U.S. Servicemen are known internationally for violence toward māhū and women. Racist violence, such as the killing of Kollin Elderts by a drunken federal agent during APEC in 2011, is always a risk in Hawaiˈi and has historically been protected by both the State and the United States government. In addition, RIMPAC is a mental health hazard. Increased fear, anger, disempowerment and trauma resulting from the continued invasion of Hawaiˈi and destruction of its lands harm its people, and RIMPAC displaces local families from beaches, trails and other areas in which families might find respite. RIMPAC makes Hawaiˈi a real potential target for attack, including nuclear annihilation, due to the combined aggression of its participants worldwide.
Harm to Marine Animals:
RIMPAC is devastating to our ocean. A “take” (kill, harm or disrupt) permit is granted for over a million marine animals per cycle. Auditory monitoring and “visual inspection” of the ocean surface before explosions take place do not prevent the actual deaths of dolphins, whales and other marine life. Sinkex (the bombing of retired ships) and other polluting practices contaminate fish and other ocean creatures with toxins such as PCBs, PBDEs, tributyltin, PFAS/PFOA, asbestos, TNT, RDX, and a plethora of heavy metals. Turtle nesting areas are severely harmed by by amphibious landings. Sonar, which is used extensively for four RIMPAC weeks, harms cetaceans such as dolphins and whales, sometimes resulting in death. Propellants and heavy metal leachates cause reef death by disrupting zooxanthella and increasing thermal sensitivity that leads to bleaching, which is devastating to many fragile species and entire ecosystems that rely on coral. Many other harms exist as well.
Harm to Climate:
Climate change is one of the greatest security threats to the people worldwide. Climate change is responsible for increased international tension, and disasters such as the Lahaina fires in 2023, and storms that cause refugee crises. The United States military is the institution responsible for the world’s largest climate impact, and the atmospheric harm of RIMPAC dwarfs every other activity or industry in Hawai’i, or the output of many nations. Each RIMPAC produces an estimate (the military is problematically exempted from actual reporting at all, which needs to change) of 693,366 metric tons of CO2, and RIMPAC 2026 may easily exceed 700,000 metric tons, due to the increased scale and number of participants. This is far more than the total output of many nations, such as the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, which are directly threatened by carbon-driven sea level rise and may be forced to flee to Hawaiˈi or other higher ground if inundated. Greenwashing, such as the diversion of biofuels from civilian use to artificially inflate the Navy’s mitigation appearances, increases harm rather than reducing it. NO2, SO2 and other toxins from approximately 40 surface ships, five submarines, and 140 aircraft drive ocean acidification and temperature rise, which contributes to coral bleaching and planetary warming.
Harm to Hawaiˈi’s Sovereignty:
Hawaiˈi is a peaceful, neutral country under a prolonged occupation that its people have consistently, civilly asked the United States to undo and repair since 1893. This lack of restoration has led to mass displacement, systemic racism, and mass killing of the Indigenous people through oppression-linked chronic diseases, along with threats to the entire population from potential targeting by nuclear powers antagonized by the United States. It is a grievous harm to a country dedicated to peace to be utilized as bombing practice for atrocities globally. Inviting notorious human rights violators such as the U.S., Israel, Indonesia and the Philippines who are actively, presently involved in genocide and other crimes against humanity, to join in this assault of Hawai’i’s sacred lands and waters is a horrific wrong, to which Hawaiˈi cannot be complicit.
Cumulative Harm:
RIMPAC is considered the “Superbowl” of military exercises in the Pacific. Many of the 31 countries sending their militaries to RIMPAC are also hosting U.S. war games in their territories, despite the intensive protests of their people. The harms caused by RIMPAC in Hawai’i are also experienced by people in countries subjected to U.S. war games around the world, sometimes to an extreme degree. Hundreds of multilateral war drills are taking place across Asia and the Pacific from April to September, including large scale multilateral drills in Japan (Resolute Dragon), Guam (Valiant Shield and REFORPAC), the Philippines (Balikatan and Salaknib), Australia (Pitch Black and Talisman Sabre), Indonesia (Super Garuda Shield), and Korea (Ulichi Freedom Shield), which cumulatively bring over 220,859 troops into these countries, in some cases up to 45,000 troops at a time. This is in addition to the thousands of U.S. troops already deployed in these countries, against the people’s expressed protest. These war games bring increased human rights violations, violent assaults, murders and other crimes, often with no consequences. Bombings, war drills, and military presence disrupt the livelihood of fisherfolks and farmers, and their land is often stolen. Communities become magnets of large scale warfare and conflict, putting them at risk of invasion and annihilation.
RIMPAC is not a game. RIMPAC is war: ongoing war on Hawaiˈi, war on our planet, war on humanity and all of our future generations. It is time to end RIMPAC forever, and build real peace built upon human rights, planetary protection, and aloha.