BEIJING -- The Chinese military has dispatched a contingent to participate in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise of the Cobra Gold 2023 multinational exercise in Thailand, said a Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday.

The contingent, selected from the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, will participate in the exercise in Thailand from Feb 9 to March 10, according to Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense. He added that the Chinese army has been invited to participate in ten consecutive editions of the exercise since 2014.

The exercise this year includes engineering assistance, the tabletop exercise of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and live drills under the scenarios of buildings collapsing, hazardous substances leakage, first aid, and fire rescue, among others, said Tan.