Philippine Navy ship joins RIMPAC in Hawaii amid protests over U.S. ties

Aboard the Philippine Navy vessel BRP Miguel Malvar, senior Filipino community members and diplomats attended a reception in Pearl Harbor before the ship set sail for the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. Vice Admiral Jose Ezpeleta, the Philippines’ top naval officer, praised “Filipino hospitality, or bayanihan” and described the event as a bridge linking the Philippines and the United States.

Outside the base gates, roughly 20 protesters representing groups such as the Ho‘opae Pono Peace Project, Anakbayan Hawaii, and the Filipino Artist Movement gathered on Kamehameha Highway. They condemned the Philippine military’s participation in RIMPAC, linking it to broader U.S. militarism and recent human‑rights incidents in the Philippines, including the killing of two Filipino‑American activists in Negros Occidental. One demonstrator said, “Everyone here is here because they love someone and they know someone that’s been impacted by U.S. militarism across the world.”