China, Thailand hold combat exercises in latest show of growing security ties

The annual drill was first held in 2015. Last year, China sent its JH-7A fighter-bomberthe Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft and six Chengdu J-10 C/S fighters, the most advanced lineup in the history of the exercise.

“The joint training adheres to the principles of mutual benefit and the standard of actual and practical combat training, which will further improve the training level of the Chinese and Thai air forces,” said Chen Jun, commander of the Chinese troops. , according to Xinhua. .

Boripat Ratchaneepun, an officer with the Thai air force operations directorate, added that the drill would enhance “mutual trust and friendship” between the Thai and Chinese air forces.

China celebrated its first naval exercises with ally Cambodia in March and conducted exercises with Singapore and Laos in May. He also participated in Indonesian military exercises off the coast of Makassar in South Sulawesi, along with the United States and other forces, in June.

Meanwhile, the US conducted several drills in the first half of the year with regional allies including Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

During the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore last month, China’s Defense Minister General li shangfu He refused Washington’s request for a formal meeting with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has maintained close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping on various issues, including security.

Thailand was one of the few countries Xi visited last year before China abandoned its zero-Covid policy and reopened its borders.

During Xi’s visit to Bangkok in November, Prayuth agreed to explore cooperation under China’s Global Security Initiative to “address traditional and non-traditional security challenges.”

China was Thailand’s largest trading partner last year, with a bilateral trade value of 3.69 trillion baht (104.7 billion US dollars), accounting for about 18 percent of Thailand’s total foreign trade volume, according to the Ministry of Commerce of China.

Thailand will begin the first round of voting to choose its next prime minister on Thursday.