The U.S. and Thailand launched their annual joint Cobra Gold military exercises Tuesday as Asia grapples with uncertainty over the direction of American foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
The war games, typically involving days of gruelling and sometimes gruesome drills in the Thai jungle, are the largest United States-led military exercises in Asia.
They have continued in spite of tensions over a 2014 coup in Thailand, prompting Washington
to cut back on military aid and call for a return to democracy.
But the U.S. has also been wary of pushing its long-standing Southeast Asian ally into the embrace of superpower rival China.
This year, Washington sent the head of the U.S. Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris to attend the opening of Cobra Gold on Tuesday — the highest ranking officer to visit Thailand since the coup.
He urged the country to resume democratic rule, a hand-off the junta has repeatedly delayed.
“We look forward to Thailand’s reemergence as a flourishing democracy because we need Thailand to be a strong and stable partner,” he said.
This year’s 10-day exercise kicks off under a cloud of uncertainty about the role of the U.S. in the region.
It is unclear whether Trump will rollback on his predecessor’s much-trailed ‘Asia pivot,’ which banked on boosting security and trade ties as a counterweight to China’s growing might.
Trump’s administration is also expected to take a softer line on human rights, potentially offering some respite for the Thai junta and other authoritarian governments in the region.
Story: AFP
