Cobra Gold exercise still on, says US

Cobra Gold exercise still on, says US

The US has pledged to continue its military cooperation with Thailand, especially the Cobra Gold annual military exercise.

Speaking after a 70-minute talk with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon at the Defence Ministry, the US embassy to Thailand's Charge d'Affaires Patrick Murphy confirmed the longstanding annual Cobra Gold will be held next month.

Uninformed rumours claimed last year the US was thinking of cancelling Cobra Gold 2015, or even moving it to Australia, but no such proposals ever were considered.

Mr Murphy called on Gen Prawit Thursday to introduce himself after being appointed as charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Bangkok.

Officers from 29 countries will join the biggest annual multinational joint military exercise in Southeast Asia when it is held in Thailand next month.

The Cobra Gold exercises have been running for more than 30 years.

After the coup in May last year, there was speculation Thailand might be dropped from Cobra Gold 2015 as the US government reviewed a plan to move the military exercise elsewhere.

The US government understands the situation in Thailand, which has been a challenging time for the Thai people, Mr Murphy said. 

It fully supports reform until Thailand achieves full democracy, he added.

"I heard from the deputy prime minister about efforts to return Thailand to full democracy and an elected civilian government. The US strongly encourages this and we hope the process will take place sooner or later," said Mr Murphy.

Speaking of the new US ambassador replacing Kristie Kenney who completed her term in November last year, Mr Murphy said President Barack Obama will need to make the announcement before it is official.

The charge d'affaires discussed the human trafficking problem, but refused to discuss with the media Thailand's Tier 3 placement in its Trafficking in Persons Report, which the Thai government is eager to improve.

Mr Murphy said he had also discussed the long-time diplomatic relationship and friendship between the Thai and American peoples, as well as future cooperation and development opportunities.

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