Thai-US military exercise begins despite last year's coup

May 8, 2007, 10:19 GMT

Bangkok - Cobra Gold, a Thai-US military exercise that has been hosted by the Asian kingdom for the past 25 years, kicked off Tuesday despite somewhat strained bilateral relations caused by Thailand's September coup.

'For a quarter-century, Cobra Gold has been the most visible symbol of US and Thai military cooperation,' Cobra Gold US Deputy Chief of Mission Alexander A Arvizu said in his opening remarks made at the Ambassador City Hotel in Jomtien, Chon Buri province, 100 kilometres east of Bangkok.

There were questions about whether the symbolic exercise would be held in the aftermath of Thailand's military coup last year that toppled elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and put in place an appointed government.

But the annual military exercise, which has become a multilateral affair in recent years, was given a go-ahead despite Washington's decision to cut military aid to the kingdom.

'Cobra Gold this year is truly a regional affair with representatives from more than 20 countries present,' Arvizu said.

He noted that the purpose of the Cobra Gold exercises was to improve 'US, Thai, Singaporean, Indonesian, and Japanese military readiness and combined-joint interoperability, enhance security relationships and demonstrate US resolve to support the security and humanitarian interests of friends and allies in the region.'