Singapore and Thailand Armies Conclude 15th Exercise Kocha Singa

Chief of Army, Major-General Ravinder Singh (right) and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha (left) officiating at the closing ceremony of Exercise Kocha Singa 2013.

The Singapore Army and the Royal Thai Army (RTA) concluded a bilateral army exercise, codenamed Exercise Kocha Singa this morning. The closing ceremony was officiated by Chief of Army Major-General (MG) Ravinder Singh and RTA Commander-in-Chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha at the Murai Urban Training Facility. During the closing ceremony, MG Singh spoke about the bilateral relations and friendships forged over bilateral exercises like Exercise Kocha Singa. He said, "The Singapore Army and the Royal Thai Army also share a close friendship forged over decades of mutual co-operation, professional exchanges and exercises spanning across the various arms".

The exercise, the 15th in the series, was held in Singapore from 19 to 26 March 2013 and involved personnel from the SAF's 3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment and the RTA's 1st Infantry Battalion from the 2nd Infantry Regiment. The exercise included professional interactions, live firing, as well as participation in urban operations training in Murai Urban Training Facility.

First conducted in 1997, Exercise Kocha Singa underscores the close and long-standing defence ties between Singapore and Thailand and serves to enhance the interoperability between the two armies. Both armies also interact regularly through professional exchanges, visits and courses. These interactions have strengthened the professionalism, friendship and mutual understanding among their personnel.

Troops from both armies doing a cheer during their training at the Murai Urban Training Facility.