The biggest U.S. force in years joined an annual military exercise in Thailand on Tuesday.
This came despite controversy over the Thai junta’s invitation to neighboring Myanmar’s army, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing.
The United States scaled back attendance at Cobra Gold, Asia’s largest multilateral military exercise, after a 2014 coup in Thailand.
But relations between the junta and the United States have improved under President Donald Trump.
The presence of the 6,800 U.S. personnel was a demonstration of America’s continuing muscle in a region where China is growing ever more powerful.
