S. Korea Joins Maritime Exercise in Thailand

South Korea is participating in a multinational maritime military exercise led by the United States and Thailand in the Southeast Asian country, the Marine Corps said Sunday.
In the annual Cobra Gold drills that began Tuesday and are headed by the US Pacific Command and the Royal Thai Armed Forces, combined forces troops carried out a mock landing in a conflict zone and conducted a field training exercise to sharpen their combat skills, the Marine Corps said in a statement.
Some 7,500 troops from nine countries are taking part in the maneuvers, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, India and China also having troops on the ground for the 10-day exercise. Ten other countries, including Britain, Canada and France, took part in the drills as observers, a Marine Corps official said.
South Korea sent a combined 57 Navy and Marine Corps service members to the drills that involve eight warships, 52 aircraft and 23 assault amphibious vehicles operated by the US and Thailand, he said.
In odd years, Seoul sends a small contingent to the Cobra Gold drill because it does not take part in large-scale landing exercises. But in even years, it sends hundreds of troops to the drill, official sources said.
The US-Thailand exercise was launched in 1981 to build up regional war readiness, as well as humanitarian and civil action capabilities, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported. 

Source: QNA