Cobra Gold benefits all

Bangkok Post 13/01/2010 Cobra Gold 2010 takes on a decidedly new look this year. The longest-running and largest military war games in Southeast Asia have a new date and a brand new direct participant. The 28th annual exercises will be held during the first 11 days of February, a departure from the usual April-May dates during the hot season. The participating armed forces have increased once again, this time to six nations. Some 411 soldiers from the South Korean army will join the Thai-US operation for the first time, along with troops from Japan, Singapore and Indonesia.

The imminent arrival of the Korean forces has caused a minor undercurrent of comment. There are some who apparently see the addition of the South Koreans as some sort of comment or even threat to the balance of power in East Asia. These detractors are wrong, for several reasons. The entire point of Cobra Gold military exercises from the beginning in 1982 has been to encourage openness. The war games themselves take part in full view of the public. This year, there are numerous observers as always, from the region and the world. Ten official observers include military and diplomatic officers from China, France, the Philippines and Germany, and others.

This is not to ignore the reality of the extremely dynamic East Asian politics and military balance. During the past year, as Cobra Gold 2010 was being planned, much information has come to light about the activities of North Korea. In particular, Pyongyang has joined with Burma in a pact of some sort. The agreement between the rogue countries at the opposite corners of East Asia is as secret and baffling as the Cobra Gold exercises are open. Everyone knows that after 27 years, Cobra Gold poses no threat to any country, least of all Thailand's own neighbour and Asean partner. The nearly three decades since the exercises began has clearly changed Cobra Gold, but only as it tends to deal with likely threats to common defence. In the 1990s, the exercises often dealt with peace-keeping, reflecting in large part the deployment of the Thai military to East Timor. Cobra Gold has focused at times on drug and human trafficking, on possible terrorist threats and, of course, on "storming the beaches" in large, coordinated air, sea and land offensives.

Whether large or small, bilateral or multilateral, joint military exercises have two major benefits. Soldiers and command headquarters learn and share information, intelligence and operating tactics. Also, open war games encourage confidence in the international community of nations. Allies, neighbours and potential foes - all are welcome to see the strategy, manpower and weaponry, thus building trust.

North Korea may bluster again that Cobra Gold poses a threat to Pyongyang. It does not, whether South Korean forces are directly involved or are merely observers. It is not simply the distance from South Korea that shows up such Pyongyang propaganda as meaningless. The fact is that Cobra Gold is an internal set of exercises with no target.

Gen Ratchakrit Kanchanawat, the joint chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, was correct to dismiss apprehension over Cobra Gold 2010. South Korea has long been a friend, and the two countries have shared military doctrine and experiences for decades. The Thai Army, after all, was a member of the UN force which resisted and repelled the North Korean attack on the South in 1951. The armies fought together, again with US forces, in Vietnam. Participants and observers alike, all are welcome at Cobra Gold, set to begin on Feb 1.