ASEAN Exercise 16-3 Underway in Thailand

02 September 2016

From U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs

Thirty personnel from U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC), and U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) are taking part in ASEAN Exercise 16-3 (AEX 16-3), from September 1-11 in Chonburi Province, Thailand.

The exercise focuses on military-to-military operational planning, administration, and coordination to increase the capabilities of joint operations from ASEAN Member States and "plus" countries in support of disaster response in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, AEX 16-3 is the third iteration of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) multinational exercise program in 2016. AEX 16-3 is a small-scale Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR)-focused multinational exercise co-hosted by Thailand, Japan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and the Russian Federation.

The United States is one of 18 countries invited to participate in the exercise. AEX 16-3 includes a Command Post Exercise and a Field Training Exercise with associated After Action Reports. A total of 400 foreign forces are anticipated to participate in AEX 16-3. Participating ASEAN Member States include Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.