Taipei: Defense Minister Wellington Koo stated on Wednesday that Taiwan should closely observe the ongoing United States-led multinational military exercises in the Western Pacific as it conducts its own drills.

According to Focus Taiwan, while Koo was specifically questioned about the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise during a legislative hearing, he emphasized that Resolute Dragon and Valiant Shield deserve more attention than RIMPAC.

Koo's comments came in response to a query from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu, who inquired whether Taiwan's ongoing and planned military exercises were linked to the RIMPAC exercise, which commenced on Wednesday and will continue until July 31, alongside other drills set to run through August. Wang highlighted that Taiwan has scheduled several significant exercises in the same timeframe, including the Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise, which started on Monday, the Joint Defense Exercise beginning in mid-July, and the Han Kuang exercises in August.

Focusing on the two exercises, Koo noted that Valiant Shield 2026 began on Monday in the Mariana Islands, Guam, and Japan, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Meanwhile, Resolute Dragon 2026 started on June 20 and will continue until June 30, as announced by U.S. Forces Japan. Koo detailed that Resolute Dragon is concentrated on Japan's Kyushu and Ryukyu island chains, which extend southwest from Kyushu towards Taiwan. The exercise involves joint operations across multiple islands and, from the U.S. perspective, the deployment of expeditionary forces to forward areas for joint training with the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

In contrast, Valiant Shield is broader in scope, covering Hawaii, Guam, and other locations, and involves a larger number of participants, including Australia and other observers, Koo added. Although official U.S. documents do not explicitly state that these multinational exercises aim to counter Chinese military forces in the region, Koo argued that their strategic focus was unmistakable.

When Wang inquired whether personnel from the U.S. Pacific Command's J5 Directorate (Strategy, Plans, and Policy) had been sent to Taiwan to participate in the current military exercise or if they plan to do so in future exercises, Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence, chose not to comment. However, Hsieh affirmed that Taiwan is "definitely not alone" in the military operations conducted by its international partners across the Indo-Pacific region.