CRI听力:US, Thailand and Japan Join Evacuation Drill

Three hundred and twenty military personnel from the United States, Thailand, and Japan took part in a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation on Sunday.

The drill, led by the United States, was conducted at a navy air base in eastern Thailand as part of Cobra Gold, the biggest joint military exercise in Asia-Pacific.

Personnel responded to a made-up scenario which involved treating injured and evacuating people after a natural disaster occurred.

U.S. mission commander Captain Hector Contreras explains the importance of running the drills.

"First of all, in a region where humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, happens quite often, it is good to have nations that we're friendly with, that we're partnered with, that we can come together, a stronger response that can quickly service this portion of the world."

Cobra Gold has been held annually in Thailand for more than three decades, but the United States scaled the drill back this year after sanctioning Bangkok for last year's coup.