#041/08 May 21, 2008

Remarks by US Ambassador Eric G. John
Cobra Gold 2008 Closing Ceremony - May 21, 2008
(As prepared for delivery)

General Boonsrang, General Montree, Cobra Gold Participants and Observers, Members of the Military Attaché Corps, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is an honor for me to join you here today to help bring this year’s Cobra Gold exercise to a close.  This year’s exercise, designed as a joint/combined exercise to train our troops to deploy a Joint Task Force to rapidly to conduct operations, evolved into real-world relief operations following the tragic natural disaster in Burma and unmistakably demonstrated the importance of Cobra Gold to the region. 

This year’s exercise remains America’s signature multilateral exercise in the Asia-Pacific region and the past two weeks have clearly proven its relevance.  We welcome the contributions of all of the nations, including those of the more recent participants - Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.  We hope that the transparent nature of Cobra Gold will serve as a regional confidence building measure, allowing observer delegations and visiting attachés a better understanding of how our militaries are training for combined operations to support regional stability.

Cobra Gold is a vital tool not just to enhance U.S.-Thai relations, but also to strengthen our bonds with other countries in the region.  I would also like to underscore the fact that the work our troops have done in this exercise can help to save lives in future contingencies, peacekeeping deployments, and disaster responses.  Thanks to all of your efforts, Cobra Gold remains a mark of our combined commitment to regional stability in Southeast Asia.

In closing, I would like to thank Royal Thai Armed Forces for once again hosting a superb Cobra Gold exercise.  Of special significance, Cobra Gold this year improved our joint ability to respond to disasters, such as the tsunami or the cyclone in Burma.  Our collaboration has been historic and Thailand’s willingness to allow the United States and other countries to use Utapao Naval Air Base as a hub for relief efforts demonstrated true regional leadership and selflessness.  

I would also like to salute the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen from Thailand, the U.S., Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia who made this exercise a success.   We look forward to seeing many of you again next year for Cobra Gold ’09, the planning for which starts next week.

Thank you.