Marines drink cobra blood in US-Thai war drills

A Thai Navy instructor holds up snakes during a jungle survival exercise as part of the Cobra Gold 2018 joint military exercise at a military base in Chonburi province, Thailand on February 19, 2018. -Reuters

CHON BURI: US and Thai marines slurped snake blood and ate scorpions in a jungle survival programme on Monday as part of the two nations’ annual Cobra Gold war games.

Now in its 37th year, Cobra Gold is one of the largest military exercises in Asia, bringing thousands of troops from the United States, Thailand and other countries for 10 days of field training on Thai shores.