TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US military on Tuesday initially listed Taiwan as a participating nation in a multinational exercise in Thailand but removed it from the announcement three hours later.
At 6:17 p.m., a post on the Exercise Cobra Gold Facebook page opened with the following statement: “Better Together! More than 200 service members from U.S., Thailand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan gathered on the parade ground at Camp Suranaree, Thailand, Feb. 25, to usher in the start of Cobra Gold 2025.”
However, at 9:15 p.m., “Taiwan” was removed from the list, per Liberty Times. The Ministry of National Defense and the US Public Affairs Office for the exercise have yet to respond to requests from Taiwan News for comment.
General Ronald P. Clark, the commanding general of US Army Pacific, was cited in the post as saying, “We share a goal in this region: to prevent war by remaining ready together." He added, “Preventing war requires many thanks, so thank you to Thailand for putting in the effort this year for the 44th annual Cobra Gold Exercise.”
The US-Thailand-led military exercise was initiated in 1982, per the Institute for National Defense and Security Research. By 2010, it had become the largest land-based joint military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region in terms of participating countries and troop numbers, second only to Russia-led exercises.
Although the number of participants fluctuated after 2012, and there were slight changes in the participating countries, the overall trend has remained stable. Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the US are considered the core members of the joint exercise.
The US Embassy in Thailand said on Feb. 18 that the 44th annual Exercise Cobra Gold military exercise will be held from Feb. 25 to Mar. 7. The exercise focuses on joint military operations, multinational humanitarian assistance, and disaster response drills, aiming to enhance the interoperability of regional armed forces in addressing challenges such as large-scale natural disasters and cybersecurity threats.
This year, the US military has deployed over 3,200 personnel for the exercise, with nearly 30 countries expected to participate directly or as observers. Key training events include the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Disaster Exercise on Feb. 27, Non-combatant Evacuation Operations on Feb. 28, an Amphibious Exercise on Mar. 3, and a Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise along with the closing ceremony on Mar. 7.
The US military emphasized that Cobra Gold is a symbol of the US-Thailand defense alliance and a demonstration of the US commitment to working with allies and partner nations to uphold security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The current Exercise Cobra Gold announcement does not list Taiwan:
