Cobra Gold military exercises resume at pre-pandemic size

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai and U.S. officials have officially opened annual Cobra Gold multinational military exercises, now restored to one of the world’s largest following three years of sharp pandemic cutbacks, reinforcing the security alliances of the United States and six Asian nations. Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia are full participants in the two-week planning and field exercises, which are co-hosted by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Twenty-three other countries are exercise partners or observers. Cobra Gold began as a joint Thai-U.S. maritime exercise in 1982 and has evolved into a much larger and more sophisticated operation, which this year includes space and cyberspace.