U.S. and Thai Hold Annual Military Exercises

War games in Thailand.              

              

The U.S. and Thai militaries once again partnered up to practice live fire exercises some one hundred miles north of the capital Bangkok.              

              

The drills are part of "Cobra Gold," a U.S. partnership with Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea - and the biggest military exercise in the region.              

              

This exercise was the second in a row to involve only U.S. and Thai soldiers.              

              

[Kenneth Glueck Jr., U.S. Marine General]:             

"As you know, this is the 31st year that we've done Cobra Gold, so it's never been focused on any particular country and we will continue to exercise together, as we saw today. This was the high end of the military operations where we synchronize all our activities, but likewise we've been synchronizing all our activities across the country, from the low-end spectrum of humanitarian assistance to disaster relief, to the staff exercises, to the military operations as well."              

              

The final drill came a day after a series of bombings in the Thai capital.              

              

[Kenneth Glueck Jr., U.S. Marine General]:                 

"I know that we are working very closely with the Thai government to determine exactly what did occur yesterday. But we've been in very close contact, our embassy has been in close contact with the government and it is under investigation right now." 

              

The joint exercises have been hosted annually by Thailand since 1982.              

              

This year more than 13 thousand military personnel from seven countries will take part in the drills, which will conclude on Friday.