SINGAPORE, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapore, Thailand and the United States held an opening ceremony of Exercise Cope Tiger, an annual trilateral air exercise, at Singapore's Paya Lebar Airbase Wednesday.

　　Singapore's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the exercise will be carried out in two phases.

　　The three-day first phase, called Command Post Exercise, was held at Paya Lebar Airbase last week.

　　The statement said it involved mission planning exercises and mission commanders' training, and it enabled the participants to gain a greater appreciation of the operating and planning procedures across the three air forces.

　　The second phase, the Flying Training Exercise, which involves 96 aircraft and over 1,000 personnel, will be conducted in Korat, Thailand, from Jan. 27 to Feb. 5 next year, according to the statement.

　　It added that personnel from the three air forces will also participate in a joint socio-civic effort where they will provide medical and dental assistance to the community in Korat.

　　Exercise Cope Tiger has been an annual exercise since 1994. The statement said it enhances interoperability of the participating air forces, and promotes closer professional understanding and exchanges among its participants.