The troubled Olympic torch relay has arrived in Thailand, as more controversy erupted when one of the Japanese hosts dropped out in protest over China's crackdown in Tibet.

The torch, whose worldwide journey before the Games in August has turned into a public relations debacle for China's leaders, made its way to the kingdom overnight from India, where many protesters were arrested.

Thai officials have warned they will deport foreigners who try to disrupt the relay, but unlike at several previous stops, Thailand has not made plans to shorten its leg of the flame's globe-trotting extravaganza.

"The route remains as scheduled," General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, president of Thailand's Olympic Committee, said on Friday. "There is no change so far."

The torch has been dogged by protesters since it was lit in Greece last month, kicking off the countdown to the Olympic Games that China's communist rulers hope will showcase the nation's much-touted "peaceful rise" to power.

Instead, a crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet has put the spotlight on China's heavily criticised record on human rights - and ignited demonstrations at many of the torch's previous stops, notably London and Paris.

Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee, has said the protests have thrown the Olympics into "crisis," and reminded China that it pledged to improve its rights record when it proposed to host the Games.

Beijing has told Rogge to stay out of "irrelevant" politics and insisted the demonstrations are not in keeping with the Olympic spirit.

But it received another snub today when the Buddhist temple that was to host the ceremony to begin the relay's Japanese leg pulled out.

The temple in the city of Nagano - host of the 1998 Winter Olympics - would no longer host the starting ceremony out of concern over the situation in Tibet, a local Japanese government official said.

Demonstrations against China's rule in the Himalayan region spilled over into violent unrest on March 14, before moving to other parts of China with large Tibetan populations.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say Beijing's suppression of the rare protests left about 150 dead. China meanwhile says only that Tibetan "rioters" killed 20 people.

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters were reportedly arrested in India and Nepal - which both have large Tibetan populations.

India also hosts the Tibetan government in exile led by the Dalai Lama, whose close followers have been repeatedly blamed by Chinese authorities for helping orchestrate the unrest in China - a charge he denies.

India sealed off the heart of its capital New Delhi for the torch relay on yesterday, with thousands of police and soldiers far outnumbering the few onlookers who were allowed to watch.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, after sending in troops to "liberate" the region a year earlier.

The latest crackdown - including a ban on foreign tourists and journalists in the area - has increased attention on China in the run-up to the Games, which begin in the Chinese capital on August 8.

China's close ties to the government of Sudan, blamed for years of strife in Darfur, and its treatment of domestic critics and activists have also been fodder for demonstrators.

The torch arrived in Thailand in the early hours today, and was ferried to a luxury hotel in Bangkok, where it will be kept until the relay takes place tomorrow afternoon.

A coalition of human rights and student groups are planning to display an alternative torch outside Bangkok's UN headquarters.

AFP