US considers keeping Cobra Gold in another country
The soup will not be eaten as hot as it is served. This is, somewhat loosely translated, the reaction of the military authorities to a discussion in the US House of Representatives about the relocation of the annual military exercise Cobra Gold.
In the House, Scot Marciel of the US State Department told Tuesday that Washington is considering holding the exercise in which other Southeast Asian countries besides the US and Thailand are participating next year in another country next year. Holding the exercise in Thailand would signify approval of what has been termed the "repressive" nature of the military junta.
Air Force Commander Prajin Juntong, deputy head of the NCPO, does not consider that chance very high. Not only Thailand, but also the US would be disadvantaged. He points to the long-term mutual benefits: 'Moving to another country would mean losing those benefits. Both countries have long shared a common interest and that should not be taken for granted.'
Cobra Gold has been held annually since 1982. The last time in February with troops from Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as troops from the US and Thailand. This year China joined for the first time. A total of 13.000 soldiers practiced: 4.000 from Thailand and the rest from other countries.
According to Congressman Steve Chabot, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Asia subcommittee, holding the exercise in Thailand would "clearly send the wrong signal ... in light of the repressive nature" of the NCPO. He called on the government to hold the exercise in Australia, where 2.500 US Marines are stationed.
Prajin says that a possible move will hardly affect the air force, because it regularly exercises with neighboring countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Nevertheless, he hopes that the US and other countries will change their stance and respond positively when the junta's three-point plan for reconciliation, reform and elections comes into effect.
After the military took power on May 22, the US State Department announced it was withdrawing $3,5 million in aid. The US has now announced that it will suspend another $4,7 million (152,5 million baht) of military aid. [Other numbers are mentioned elsewhere in the message, but we are used to that Bangkok Post.]
Prajin's not so hot soup is based on the experience of 2006, when the army sent the Thaksin government home. Thailand was initially put under pressure, but that pressure gradually eased the following year after serious efforts were made to create understanding.
The junta is now also trying to do this in response to the announced freezing of financial aid by the US and the EU. Prajin spoke to the Chinese ambassador yesterday about closer economic ties. Thai-Chinese trade activities will resume, the ambassador said, after being temporarily halted due to the political uncertainty.
An army source does not view the congressional discussion as a real threat; she was probably no more than extinguisher (big talk). According to him, the US benefits more from the exercises than Thailand. The US has chosen Thailand as the location because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, he says.
(Source: bangkok mail, June 26, 2014)
Photos: Cobra Gold in February this year in Had Yao (Sattahip). South Korean soldiers on the left, Americans on the right.