[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Military Gradually Participates in Indo-Pacific Strategy Exercises

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military is participating consecutively this year in exercises for the U.S. ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy.’ Although participation is under the name of annual multinational joint exercises, it is evaluated as joining efforts to contain China.

The U.S. and Thailand have decided to conduct the multinational joint exercise ‘Cobra Gold’ on a large scale starting next year. ‘Cobra Gold’ is an annual multinational joint exercise led by the U.S. Pacific Command (now Indo-Pacific Command) and Thailand, which began in 1982. South Korea has participated as an observer since 2002 and officially joined from 2010. It is expected to participate in next year’s exercise as well.

Since Prime Minister Prayut came to power through a coup in 2014, Thailand has especially maintained close military ties with China. Major arms deals such as F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, previously imported from the U.S., were discontinued. Following the acquisition of 28 Chinese tanks in 2016, a Chinese submarine in 2017, Thailand also procured a Chinese amphibious assault ship in 2019.

As military cooperation between Thailand and China strengthened, the U.S. stepped in. Recently, Secretary Austin made his first official visit to Thailand as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. This visit came shortly after his speech at the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) held in Singapore, where he addressed countering China’s expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region. It is interpreted as an intention to exclude China and reinforce military cooperation between the U.S. and Thailand. Thailand is currently negotiating with the U.S. government to purchase eight state-of-the-art F-35 stealth fighters.

The Navy also participated for the first time in February in the multinational joint maritime exercise ‘MILAN,’ hosted by India. This exercise is also part of participating in the ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy.’ ‘MILAN’ is a multinational joint maritime exercise and forum initiated by India, aimed at maritime disaster relief and humanitarian support activities among neighboring countries. It has been held biennially in India since 1995.

The Marine Corps is scheduled to participate for the first time in the ‘KAMANDAG’ exercise held in the Philippines this October. The Marine Corps is considering dispatching at least a company-level force to conduct joint training with the Philippine Marines. The KAMANDAG exercise has been conducted jointly by the Philippine and U.S. Marine Corps in the Philippines since 2017, and its name is an acronym in the Filipino language meaning ‘Cooperation of Sea Warriors.’

The military expects that through this exercise, which also involves the U.S. Marine Corps, the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture can be further strengthened. Moreover, since the Philippines is an archipelagic country consisting of over 7,000 islands, it is anticipated that various amphibious environments can be experienced. In addition, the military has participated in the U.S.-led world’s largest multinational maritime exercise, Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), as well as Thailand’s Cobra Gold, Australia’s Talisman Sabre, and Mongolia’s Khan Quest exercises.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.