Cobra Gold, the biggest international military exercise in mainland Asia, is under way in Rayong, with the biggest US attendance in a decade as Washington strengthens ties with a key security partner at a time of rising geopolitical competition with Beijing.
This year’s military drill, which opened on Monday and runs until March 10, involves 30 countries. Cobra Gold has been a fixture on the defence calendars of many countries for four decades, but this year’s exercises have been was billed as a return to full-scale drills after the pandemic.
More than 6,000 US military personnel are attending the war games. Adm John Aquilino, the top commander for the Indo-Pacific region, is participating in a sign of renewed US-Thai security ties, said Robert Godec, the US Ambassador to Thailand.
“Cobra Gold helps build interoperability, advances our common interests, and serves as a demonstration of our dedication to our allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Mr Godec said at the opening ceremony.
About 3,000 Thai troops will be taking part, Gen Thitichai Tianthong, chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Army, said earlier.
Cobra Gold this year has three main components: a staff exercise, which includes a senior leaders’ seminar; humanitarian civic assistance projects in Thai communities; and field training that includes a variety of exercises to strengthen regional relationships and enhance interoperability.
The drills, which will be carried out in a strict disease-control setting, were scaled back due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, according to Gen Thitichai.
Seven of the 30 nations involved — the US, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand — will be taking part in the full military exercises, which will be held in Lop Buri, Chanthaburi, Sa Kaeo and Rayong provinces.
Countries joining as part of the Multinational Planning Augmentation Team (MPAT) are Bangladesh, Canada, France, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Fiji, Brunei and the UK.
Ten other countries — Cambodia, Laos, Brazil, Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Kuwait and Sri Lanka — will limit their participation to the Combined Observer Liaison Team (Colt) exercise.
Cobra Gold is often viewed as an indicator of the strength of US-Thai relations. After the 2014 military coup led by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the US presence at subsequent Cobra Gold gatherings was downgraded for a few years.
A greater US presence in the joint war games is seen as a significant development in Washington’s “dance” to balance its values and geopolitical interests with the rise of China, said Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University.
“By increasing the number of US troops back into Cobra Gold, this re-calibrates US-Thai relations more on a par with China,” he told Bloomberg. “So there is more of a hedging policy for Thailand in terms of trying to create balance between the two great powers that matter most to Thailand.”
Troops man assault amphibious vehicles during an AAV tactical training exchange last week involving the US and Thai armed forces, as a prelude to the Cobra Gold exercises, at the Marine Corps Amphibious Vehicle Battalion in Sattahip district of Chon Buri.