Thai and American military representatives met at army headquarters in Bangkok on Tuesday for four days of discussions on joint activities and other areas of cooperation for this year and next year.
The fourth meeting of Thai-American medium-ranking military officials is to run from July 21 to 24.
Maj Gen Todd B McCaffrey, US Army Pacific chief of staff, led a 25-member delegation to the "Executive Steering Group" meeting, which addressed bilateral military cooperation and joint activities in 2015 and 2016. Lt Gen Sermsak Niyamosot, deputy chief of staff of the Thai army, co-chaired the meeting.
This year, there are 26 activities scheduled, including the already concluded annual joint army exercise, named Hanuman Guardian, in Saraburi province, the exchange of logistic and intelligence specialists, US recommendations on provisions for aircraft, and cultural and linguistic exchanges.
For the first time, the Thai army invited reporters to cover the meeting to show the continuation of Thai-American military relations, despite a military-led government being in power Thailand.