The opening parade of the Cobra Gold 2020 military (Photo: bangkokpost.com)Hanoi (VNA) – Cobra Gold, one of the largest multinational militaryexercises in Asia-Pacific, kicked off in Thailand on February 25, with this year's event taking place underthe heavy cloud of a fast-spreading novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
The exercise,co-hosted by Thailand, the US, Japan, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) andMalaysia, will last until March 6, with around 9,600 personnel from 29 countriestaking part.
It is aimed atenhancing interoperability, strengthening relationships among participatingnations and handling security threats and national disasters.
Speaking atthe opening ceremony at Camp Akatotsarot in the northern province of Phitsanulok,Charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Bangkok Michael Heath said only throughcooperation and collaboration can countries address the challenges of keepingpeople safe.
Apart from thetabletop exercises, field training, and humanitarian assistance and disasterrelief, cyber warfare training will also be highlighted this year. It will aimto address the ability to handle the ever-increasing threats from the cyberworld.
For thisyear's exercise, the 39th of its kind, the US is sending around 5,500 troops,64 aircraft and two war ships. The exercise will also see its very firstappearance of F-35 fighter jet.
But thisyear's event takes place with added pressure of keeping participants safe frominfection by the new coronavirus.
In response tothe deepening health crisis, the RoK has reduced the number of personneljoining the exercise due to an explosion of domestic cases of infection, whilethe number of observing countries might also slightly decrease.
Strategieshave been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. All personnel wererequired to go through medical screening before leaving their respectivecountries, and they will be checked twice a day for the duration of theexercise./.
VNA
