This year is the 25th of exercises in the series, which began in 1971. Denmark, Germany and Italy are participating for the first time, while Brazil dropped out in the last minute.

During the RIMPAC 2016, which runs from June 30 to Aug 4, the PLA Navy fleet will take part in drills including gunfire, damage control and rescue, anti-piracy, search and rescue, and diving and submarine rescue.

Sports, deck reception and open ship activities and other exchanges have been scheduled for before the ships leave Pearl Harbor next week for drills on the ocean.

According to the schedule, the missile destroyer Xi’an and hospital ship Peace Ark will receive visitors on Friday in open ship day activity before they leave Pearl Harbor on July 12 to exercise on the seas.

The Taskforce 153 members left Zhoushan in East China’s Zhejiang province on June 15. They were joined in the west Pacific on June 18 by the USS Stockdale and USS William P Lawrence in the so-called “group sail” to Hawaii.

China and the United States have stepped up their military exchanges in the last few years, with high-level visits, port calls and multilateral drills mostly in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counter piracy.

Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, speaks at the opening press conference for the RIMPAC 2016. The US Pacific Fleet is the host of this year’s RIMPAC drills. Standing behind Swift are commanding officers from the participating navies. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Hospital ship Peace Ark is seen at the Pearl Harbor on June 30. Peace Ark is the only one Chinese PLA Navy ship that has participated in the RIMPAC naval drills for the second time after its debut in 2014. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Vice Admiral Nora Tyson, commander of the US Third Fleet, speaks on Tuesday at the opening press conference for the RIMPAC 2016. Tyson serves as the Combined Task Force (CTF) Commander. Chen Weihua / China Daily