PEARL HARBOR - Thailand may not be sending any contingent to the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 naval exercises, which start Thursday in the waters around Hawaii and near the U.S. West Coast. The US Pacific Command said Wednesday that Thailand is being refused participation in the war games, as a reaction to the continuing military rule launched during a coup in May.

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Last month, the U.S. also suspended the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2014 with Thailand, as it called on the Thai military leadership to end the coup. If things don't change, Thailand may also lose the opportunity to host the 2015 Cobra Gold exercises, led by the US and considered the world's largest multilateral exercises.

Earlier, the U.S. decided to cancel a planned visit to Thailand by Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Fleet. At the same time, it rescinded an invitation for Gen. Tanasak Patimapragorn, chief of Thailand's defense forces, to visit U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.

The RIMPAC 2014 website still listed Thailand as a participant, allowed a small group of composite personnel that may take part in staff exchanges. It was not clear whether Thailand did send the personnel or is in the process of doing so.

At  the state department, a senior official of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs said the United States might move the big Cobra Gold military exercises out of Thailand in 2015. Cobra Gold, also led by the US, is considered the world's largest multilateral exercises.

Assistant State Secretary Scot Marciel said the coup and what he called the "post-coup repression" in Thailand have made it impossible for relationships with Thailand to be 'business as usual.'

US Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), chairman of the House foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia, had earlier called on President Barack Obama to consider moving Cobra Gold 2015 to Australia. Chabot said staging the military exercise in Thailand might send the wrong message to Thailand and to the world.

TagsRIMPAC 2014, Thai military, Cobra Gold military exercises, naval exercise