May 2, 2005
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, (Xinhuanet) -- The 2005 joint Cobra Gold military exercise began here Monday with the participation of some 6,360 troops of four major countries.
The exercise combines armed forces from Thailand, the United States, Japan and Singapore under a combined task force headquarters to conduct field training, an executive level workshop and a computer-assisted staff exercise.
At the opening ceremony of the exercise, US ambassador to Thailand Ralph L. Boyce said the Cobra Gold, over recent years, has evolved from a bilateral exercise to a multilateral event designed to enhance the countries' ability to respond to peace enforcement and peace keeping responsibilities.
Against the backdrop of the Dec. 26 tsunami which has caused tremendous devastation to mankind, this year's joint exercise willfocus on disaster-relief operation aimed to improve participating countries' ability to respond to future disasters.
Thai Supreme General Chaisit Shinawatra said during the exercise, the forces would build water tanks for schools in Phangnga province, the hardest hit area by last year's tidal waves.
Humanitarian and civil assistance project will also be launchedat various locations in seven other provinces for disaster relief,he added.
First launched in 1982, Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled military exercise designed to improve the participants' readiness to combined-joint interoperability.
This is the first time for Japan to participate in the annual event, also the first time for Singapore to dispatch medical staffto join the exercise.
Apart from workshops and staff exercise, the United States and Thailand will also carry out field training in the 12-day-long event.