US, S. Korea and Thai joint military drills

Backed by low-flying jet fighters, marines from three nations stormed a Thai beach on Friday, as part of the ongoing annual Cobra Gold military exercise. A landing force of Thai marines led the way, coming ashore in perfect sea conditions at Hat Yao, in Chonburi province.

They were supported by United States and South Korean units in amphibious armoured vehicles. The objective was to quickly establish a beachhead and overcome an opposing force. This year, Cobra Gold has re-established itself as one of the world’s largest, multinational military exercises after three successive years of sharp pandemic cutbacks.

Though only three countries took part in Friday’s beach assault, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also full participants in the overall, two-week exercise, which is co-hosted by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the US Indo-Pacific Command. Twenty-three other countries are joining as exercise partners or observers for a total of 7,394 personnel participating in a variety of security and humanitarian drills. More than 3,800 US troops and 3,000 Thai personnel are participating.