The commander of the US Pacific Fleet said China's first-time participation in the world's largest maritime exercises in Hawaii will help Beijing and other nations work together in a crisis.

The Rim of the Pacific drills will help countries respond as they did when Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last year and when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March, Adm. Harry Harris told reporters at a news conference opening a month of training.

"These are multilateral events. Real world operations. It helps us if we practice together in settings like this," Harris said.

The US hopes the exercises will help increase transparency, he said.