Joint U.S.-Thai military exercise

War games in Thailand.

The U.S. and Thai militaries once again partnered up to practice live fire exercises some one hundred miles north of the capital Bangkok.

The drills are part of 'Cobra Gold', a U.S. partnership with Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea - and the biggest military exercise in the region.

This exercise was the second in a row to involve only U.S. and Thai soldiers.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. MARINE GENERAL KENNETH GLUECK JR. SAYING:

"As you know, this is the 31st year that we've done Cobra Gold, so it's never been focused on any particular country and we will continue to exercise together, as we did today. This was the high end of the military operations where we synchronise all our activities, but likewise we've been synchronising all our activities from across the country, from the low-end spectrum of humanitarian assistance to disaster relief, to the staff exercises, to the military operations as well."

The final drill came a day after a series of bombings in the Thai capital.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. MARINE GENERAL KENNETH GLUECK JR. SAYING:

"I know that we are working very closely with the Thai government to determine exactly what did occur yesterday. But we've been in very close contact, our embassy has been in very close contact with the government and it is under investigation right now."

The joint exercises have been hosted annually by Thailand since 1982.

This year more than 13,000 military personnel from seven countries will take part in the drills, which will conclude on Friday.

Nick Rowlands, Reuters.