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Royal Thai AF, PACAF build upon strong partnership

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Hailey Haux
  • Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) --  Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Pacific Air Forces commander, hosted Air Chief Marshal Chaiyapruk Didyasarin Royal Thai air force commander in chief, to build upon the strong U.S. – Thailand partnership, at Headquarters PACAF at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oct. 29.

This trip was Chaiyapruk’s first official visit outside of Thailand since taking office in early October.

“It’s great to have Air Chief Marshal Chaiyapruk and the rest of his delegation visit PACAF,” Brown said. “It’s very important that he was able to come here as a key partner within the region.”

While on the island, the ACM and his delegation received a barge tour of Pearl Harbor and visited Indo-Pacific Command where they had discussions with Adm. Phil Davidson, INDOPACOM commander.

Brown hosted an office call with Chaiyapruk in which they discussed opportunities to enhance the relationship between the two countries’ air forces, the F-16 Fighting Falcon midlife upgrade, the Washington Air National Guard – Thailand’s National Guard state partner – and the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“We also talked about space, cyber capabilities, how we look at a free and open Indo-Pacific, and continue to work together for the security of the region,” Brown said.
The two countries celebrated 200 years since initial contact between the King of Siam and the U.S. president, and two centuries of friendship between the two nations, making Thailand the United States’ oldest ally in Asia. The two air forces continue to build on that long-term relationship through exercises like Cope Tiger and Cobra Gold.

“It’s part of our readiness, it’s part of how we strengthen our allies and partners across the region … we’ve had relative peace for the past 70 years, the goal is to have relative peace for the next 70 years, and you can’t do that by just thinking about today,” emphasized Brown.

This year, Thailand and the U.S. co-hosted the 37th iteration of Cobra Gold in February, which was the largest multilateral military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, comprised of more than two dozen participating nations. While it emphasized humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the overall mission was to expand regional cooperation and collaboration at all levels.

"I think the real value is not just the relationship I personally have with my counterparts within the region; it’s how all of our Airmen have relationships with our partners in the region,” Brown said. “The relationships our Airmen build with the Royal Thai air force are just as important as the relationship I have with Air Chief Marshal Chaiyapruk.”