'Refocused' Cobra Gold to go ahead
WHILE this year's regional joint military drill - Cobra Gold - will go ahead, Washington has considered scaling down and refocusing the exercise after the military coup in Thailand, according to diplomatic sources.
The US communicated to the Thai military earlier that the joint military drill, which has been conducted for more than three decades, was no longer a bilateral matter between Thailand and the US.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel told media interview that “it’s a multinational exercise that includes something in the order of 30 countries. It’s not only the US and Thailand. Moreover, this year we are welcoming India’s participation for the first time”.
Concern was expressed in the junta inner circles as to whether Cobra Gold would be held in Thailand as usual this year, since Washington had threatened earlier that it might be scrapped or moved to another location after the May 22 coup.
Russel said that while the coup had had some implications for Cobra Gold, the refocus of the drill would aim to meet the new environment in the region.
“Certainly an important area for cooperation between our two militaries is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” he said.
International security expert Panitan Wattanayagorn said there was no reason to categorise the level of training as being downgraded, as Cobra Gold had always been focusing on humanitarian relief operations since the end of the Cold War.
The training each year takes turns in practising humanitarian relief operations and multilateral military exercises on the ground.
“Last year was multilateral military exercises, so the training this year will focus on humanitarian issues,” said Panitan, adding that the US has always remained firm in its commitment to continue the training despite last year’s coup.
Cobra Gold is a military training exercise that should be dissociated from the political situation, security expert Panitan said.
Washington suspended military assistance to Thailand after the coup.
Panitan went on to highlight the multifaceted roles that a country could play when trying to realise its national interest at the international level.
He cited by way of example the fact that the US still maintained contact with the military regime in Egypt despite the limits imposed by its own internal law.
It is crucial for Thailand to maintain the right balance of contact with all major powers, he said, adding that the country currently holds a military exercise with China and the US without having any dispute with the two great powers, he said.
Panitan also said that current US-Thai diplomatic tension was merely temporary.
What might happen, however, is that if Washington continued to hold the same stance, it could increase political pressure through the downgrade of Thailand in its annual “Trafficking in Persons Report”, he added.
