"As far as I've heard there is no change," a US Embassy spokesman in Bangkok told AFP of the 21-year-old annual drills known as Cobra Gold.

Thailand earlier had also confirmed the drills would take place as scheduled.

"Everything is the same, the joint exercise will still go ahead as planned," said Lieutenant General Pitsanu Urailert, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Supreme Command.

Cobra Gold last year had 14,000 US personnel, 7,700 from Thailand, and 70 from new exercise partner Singapore taking part. There were observers from 18 countries, including China, Russia, India and Vietnam.

An activist of the Interreligious Network for Peace has called for Cobra Gold to be scrapped as it would suggest the government supported war in Iraq.

"The joint military excercise at this time would show that Thailand supports the United States, but the Thai prime minister has said the country is neutral," Jai Ungpakorn said.

Although Thailand is an ally in the US war against terror, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has refused military support in the current war in Iraq.

The network says it is pressing on with an anti-war campaign urging people throughout Thailand to tie blue ribbons to their car side-door mirrors and raise blue flags outside their homes in peaceful protest of the war.

The group is supporting an ongoing boycott of Amercian-made products, originally started by Muslim groups in the south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

SPACE.WIRE