The Chinese air force is sending fighter jets and bombers to Thailand for a joint exercise with the Thai military on Sunday. The training will include air support, strikes on ground targets and small- and large-scale troop deployment, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.<br />'' <br />'' China's expanding military activities in the Asia-Pacific region have alarmed the United States and its allies and form part of a growing strategic and economic competition that has inflamed tensions between the world's two largest economies.<br />'' <br />''U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Thailand in June as part of an effort to strengthen what he called America's "unparalleled network of alliances and partnerships" in the region.