In Asia, US military exercises expected in Thailand but feared by North Korea

In Thailand, joint military exercises between American and Thai soldiers started on Monday 27 February. Called “Operation Cobra Gold”, these maneuvers are a symbol of the long American military presence in the region, in the face of an increasingly influential China. If there is one country in the region that is particularly sensitive to American military exercises in Asia, it is North Korea. For Pyongyang, it is a provocation, or dress rehearsal for a future invasion of its territory.

In Thailand, military maneuvers with both the United States and China

In this country which served as a rear base for American soldiers throughout the Vietnam War, more than 7,000 soldiers take part in “Operations Cobra Gold”. Since 1982, the year of their creation, these maneuvers have been a symbol of the significant American military presence in the region and serve, among other things, as a deterrent to the extension of China’s sphere of influence, which is increasingly powerful throughout Southeast Asia. But Thai soldiers also carry out joint maneuvers with China every year, called “The Falcon Attack”. Under these military communication operations, there is also a major diplomatic challenge for other countries in the Southeast Asian region such as Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia. They want to maintain good relations with the two giants, the United States and China, who oppose each other more and more virulently in the area, without ever openly appearing to be the ally of one more than of the other. other.

North Korea threatens to react to US exercises in South Korea

North Korean missile fire often intensifies as these military exercises approach. While the situation has been calmer on the peninsula since the beginning of January, the prospect of the resumption of joint exercises between the South Korean and American armies has particularly annoyed North Korea. Since mid-February, this vicious circle has resumed. Each side responds to the “provocations” of the other with its preferred means: missile launches in the North, military exercises in the South, with 28,500 American troops on site. This time, the United States wants to make up for lost time because before the arrival last May of the conservatives in power in South Korea, the time was up for dialogue, and the exercises were suspended. Pyongyang has still greatly improved its strike force in recent years. From now on, South Korea wants to acquire peace by force instead.