Thailand and China to resume air force exercises after pandemic break

An annual joint fighter jet exercise between Thailand and China will resume later this month after being halted for two years during the pandemic, the Thai air force said, with a former US air base chosen to host the event.

The “Falcon Strike” exercise has been conducted four times since 2015 and will last 11 days starting on August 14 at a base northeast of Udon Thani that was home to North Americans during the Vietnam War.

The drills, the dates of which were decided in June, come in a month when China conducts major exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, in a show of military power following the president’s visit of the United States House, Nancy Pelosi, on the self-governing island. , which Beijing considers its own.

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks after receiving the Order of the Auspicious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, Taiwan’s highest civilian honor.
(Handout/Getty Images)

Thailand is America’s oldest ally in Asia, but ties were strained by a military coup in 2014. Thailand has sought to strengthen relations with China and has made several defense purchases.

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Chinese military helicopters fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022, ahead of massive military exercises in Taiwan after the visit of the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the self-governing island.
(HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Thai air force, one of the best-equipped in the region, has historically used American hardware and is looking to acquire F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp to replace some of its older F-16 models.

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A tactical control party Airman and qualified joint terminal aircraft controller assigned to the 9th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Hood, Texas, directs an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft during a close air support exercise in Fort Hood, Texas, on October 30. 2020
(US Air Force photo by Master Sergeant JT May III)

According to an air force source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, Thailand will not deploy its F-16s for the exercises with China, but will instead use its Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters as well as the Germans. manufactured an Alpha Jet light attack aircraft.

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It was unclear what type of fighter jets China would use, the source said.