# Indian Army reaches Thailand for 15th joint military exercise MAITREE-XV 2026-08-17T10:35:07+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets An Indian Army contingent of 85 personnel has arrived in Thailand for the 15th edition of the India-Thailand joint military exercise MAITREE-XV. The drill will be held from August 18 to 31 at the Vibhavadi Rangsit Camp in Surat Thani province, according to a defence ministry statement. The Royal Thai Army will field an equal number of troops from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division. The Indian side is represented mainly by soldiers of the 9 Gorkha Rifles. The exercise focuses on company-level joint training for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in jungle and semi-urban terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The previous edition of MAITREE was conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya, in September 2025. The drill aims to deepen defence cooperation and interoperability between the two armies. Soldiers from both sides will exchange operational experiences and showcase contemporary equipment and technologies during the drill. The exercise was first instituted in 2006. ## Coverage - assamtribune.com - hindustantimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T10:58:03+00:00. Tags: Exercise MAITREE, Indian Army, Royal Thai Army, Thailand Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indian-army-contingent-leaves-for-thailand-joint-drill-maitree-xv/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indian-army-contingent-leaves-for-thailand-joint-drill-maitree-xv/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/