Cobra Gold

Cobra Gold is the largest Asia-Pacific Military exercise, and is held in Thailand every year.

Participants
The first Cobra Gold, held in 1982, bilateral United States–Thailand exercise. Other regular participants are Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea.

Several observer nations are usually invited, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste.

Cobra Gold 2001
Cobra Gold remains a bilaterally controlled exercise between Thailand and the U.S., as they work together to build regional readiness for future missions. However, third-nation observation and participation have become a trend in recent years, beginning with Singapore, as thee exercise has attracted regional interest. Third countries must observe before they can participate. Singapore observed the exercise for several years and was granted participant status in 2000. During Cobra Gold 2001, the observer program includes 35 representatives from nine countries: Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The multinational observer program is part of a transformation of the Cobra Gold exercise into a more multinational exercise to build regional readiness while complementing the existing strong bilateral relationships especially between the U.S. and Thailand. Countries that first observe the exercise may then become potential participants.

Cobra Gold 2007
Participating countries included Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States. A host of other nations were involved in the planning and a number of others were observers during the exercise. Australia, Brunei, South Korea, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Mongolia were invited to be observers during the different phases of the exercise. Featured activities included a United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping computer-simulated staff exercise, field-training exercises throughout Thailand and several humanitarian, civic action projects. Guardian and RTN mine hunter Tha Din Daeng (MHC 634) demonstrated joint interoperability in simultaneously detecting and neutralizing simulated mines. The mine hunting exercises, also involved the deployment of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Detachment (Det.) 51.

Cobra Gold 2013
On 11 February 2013, Thai Deputy Supreme Commander Adm. Yuthana Fakpon-ngarm and U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney jointly presided over the opening ceremony of the annual exercise in the Thai northern city of Chiang Mai. Cobra Gold 2013 is scheduled to be held in varied provinces of Thailand from Monday until Feb. 21. The commander of U.S. Pacific Command kicked off the longest-running U.S. military exercise in the Pacific in Thailand today, calling the 13,000 multinational participants guardians of future peace and prosperity.

Myanmar is armed forces are for the first time participating in a United States-led military exercise in Thailand.