The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2026 is bringing together 31 nations, more than 25,000 personnel and some of the world’s most advanced naval forces for the largest maritime exercise on the planet. The drills come at a time of growing tensions across the Indo-Pacific, with China excluded from the exercise for a fourth consecutive iteration and Taiwan once again left on the sidelines, despite repeated support from members of the US Congress. At the same time, questions are mounting over how closely the US and Taiwan could actually operate together in a crisis and whether existing military cooperation is enough to close critical interoperability gaps. In this episode, we examine what RIMPAC reveals about deterrence, coalition-building and the evolving state of US-Taiwan defense cooperation.
