Cobra Gold, the biggest military exercise ever, in Thailand

   

The largest US military force ever joined the XNUMX-year military exercise in Thailand, despite controversy over the Thai junta's invitation to the neighboring Myanmar army, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing.
The United States has reduced its participation in the Cobra Gold, the largest multilateral military exercise in Asia, following a coup in 2014 in Thailand. But relations between the junta and the United States have improved under President Donald Trump.
The presence of US personnel, some 6.800, nearly double the number last year, was a show of strength in a region where China is becoming increasingly powerful.
The Cobra Gold military exercise has been held for more than three decades. About 11.075 people from 29 countries will participate in Cobra Gold this year.

"This exercise is the largest multilateral military training in the Indo-Pacific region and demonstrates the US commitment to the region," Steve Castonguay, spokesman for the US embassy in Bangkok, told Reuters.
This year's exercise was marked by Thailand's controversial invitation to Myanmar, where 700.000 Rohingya Muslims fled military action, which the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing, in response to insurgent attacks.
Castonguay confirmed that an army major from Myanmar was attending the opening ceremony, but that Myanmar would not participate in any military exercises.
The United States has pushed for the restoration of democracy in Thailand, its oldest regional ally.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had promised the elections would take place in November this year, but the junta said last month that they could be postponed until February 2019 - which would be the latest of several postponements.