US says ‘scaled-down’ military drills to go ahead in Thailand
The US army will conduct joint exercises in Thailand in 2015, despite considering moving the drills to another location because of the military coup in the country earlier this year
The United States said on Saturday a “scaled-down” version of annual military exercises in Thailand would go ahead next year, after mulling moving the drills outside the kingdom in response to an army coup.
Washington suspended US$4.7 million in security-related aid to Thailand, roughly half of its annual assistance to the long-time ally, after the Thai military seized power from an elected government in May.
In June the United States said it was also considering moving next year’s Cobra Gold joint military drills – the largest US multilateral exercise in the Asia-Pacific – outside of Thailand due to the junta’s rule.
But on Saturday a US Embassy spokeswoman confirmed the annual war games would go ahead after all.
“We are proceeding with a refocused and scaled-down Cobra Gold next year exercise ... In light of the current political situation, the US government has increased its focus on non-lethal activities, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” she said.
The drills bring together thousands of troops from the US, Thailand and other countries for field training, with 2014 exercises held in February drawing some 13,000 participants.