– San Diego Union Tribune – The point of the Rim of the Pacific exercises every two years: to practice major naval maneuvers. As the Pentagon shifts its focus to the Pacific after 11 years of desert warfare, the number of nations attracted to these month-long international maritime war games has exploded. Twenty-two countries – notably Russia for the first time – paid their own way to Hawaii, even a 21-man contingent of Marines from tiny Tonga and a platoon of Malaysian army rangers. Two years ago the list was 14 nations long, and in 2008 there were 10.