Nations invited to join drills

Nations invited to join drills

PATTANI, Thailand (AFP): Thai, U.S. and Singaporean forces ended on Tuesday two weeks of military exercises focused on peacekeeping operations by inviting other nations to join the annual drill.

More than 20,000 troops participated in the exercises codenamed "Cobra Gold 2000", the biggest involving U.S. forces in the Asia Pacific region.

"We are open to more countries, more nations joining in the exercise," Thailand's Lt. Gen. Pernsak Puangsaroj said, noting Singaporeans took part for the first time this year.

Reports in the Thai media on Tuesday said that Malaysia was considering sending troops to next year's exercise. U.S. Rear Adm. William Pickavance also voiced support for expanding the number of countries joining the "Cobra Gold" exercise. "We are not exclusive," he said.

Pernsak said that the exercise objectives had been modified to focus on peacekeeping rather than traditional war-fighting and should not be seen as a threat to other nations.