The largest annual war games for the US military forces in Asia-Pacific, named "Cobra Gold" has been wrapped up, with US military officials saying that the Thai troops are now better prepared for warfare in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

United States ambassador Darryl Johnson said the Cobra Gold exercises involving almost 20,000 troops from the US, Thailand and other allied nations had increased the capabilities of Thailand's military forces to operate in hostile locations such as Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The success in directing such a complex combined operation as Cobra Gold in Thailand, is a clear sign of the rapidly increasing level of inter-operability of our armed forces in the field, Johnson added.

The ambassador further said that the exercises, primarily aimed at strengthening the peacekeeping capabilities of Thailand, had readied the Thai Kingdom for any hostile incident, from insurgencies targeting state officials and infrastructure, to peace enforcement operations and other military operations other than war, up to large scale combat operations.

Johnson said at the launch of the exercises that the war in Iraq gave Cobra Gold in Thailand greater importance, as 4 of the 5 nations involved, Thailand, the Philippines, Mongolia and the US, had contingents stationed there.

The Philippines and Mongolia were participating for the first time in the massive joint air, land and sea maneuvers, which also included Singapore. The live-fire exercises, first launched 23 years ago and originally limited to US and Thai troops, included anti-terror training for the third straight year.

Ten other nations observed this year's drills: Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Malaysia declined a Thai invitation to be an observer, citing its lack of readiness to join.