Burma has been invited to observe Cobra Gold, a US-Thai joint military exercise that involves 10,000 military personnel and participants from other Asian countries, according to a report by Reuters. The invitation comes after a visit to Naypyidaw this week by a delegation led by the US State Department’s top human rights official, Michael Posner. The US team also included Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Vikram Singh and other US military officials. Thailand, which co-hosts the annual exercise, lobbied for Burma’s inclusion, which was seen as marking a new phase in US-Burma relations.