
The U.S. Defense Department disinvited China from the forthcoming Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise due to militarization in the South China Sea and the Spratly Islands in particular, a department spokesperson said on Thursday.Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said China’s “continued militarization of the South China Sea” is “inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the RIMPAC exercise.”The U.S. first invited the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to the 2014 RIMPAC and again invited them to the 2016 exercise.RIMPAC…