This year's 'Cobra Gold' military exercises, in which a total of 29 nations are expected to attend, is set to take place between Feb 12-22. Seven nations are also expected to take part in the main training excercise.
The 38th annual military exercise will consist of Thailand, the US, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia, while Chinese and Indian soldiers will take part in an additional civil assistance programme drill.
The Multinational Planning Augmentation Team drill will consist of 10 nations, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Britain, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines and Fiji.
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Israel, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland will attend another exercise called "observer" or "COLT".
In total, 29 countries will attend next month's event.
This year's Cobra Gold exercises will have a special focus on light training, with a special focus on teaching military chiefs of staff on how to plan military training, civic assistance programmes, field training, and other additional activities.
The military chiefs of staff will sharpen their skills in controlling and commanding in drills code-named "STAFF Exercise" or "Staffex" and "C2EX".
To facilitate the Cobra Gold exercises, the Thai and US armies along with other participating armies will set up a multinational force headquarters at the Somdet Phra Ekathotsarot military camp in Phitsanulok's Muang district.
Below: Planning for Cobra Gold 2019 began the month after the conclusion of last year's war games. Photo below shows a staff meeting in Hawaii with officers from the US, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Singapore.
