522 US soldiers arrive for war games

A total of 522 American soldiers have arrived in the Philippines to participate in joint military exercises after a five-year lull, the military said yesterday as a group of women activists protested at the US Embassy.

The presidential Palace, meanwhile, defended a port call by a US guided missile destroyer in Palawan, near the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea.

A military report said 257 of the US soldiers, including US special forces troops, were billeted at undisclosed hotels in Manila while the rest were in four other sites where the exercises are being held.

The bulk of the visiting troops arrived on Saturday from the US Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan. Two Blackhawk helicopters also landed in Manila.

A total of 2,500 US troops are expected to take part in the month-long exercises, which were last held in 1995.

Exercises were suspended the year after due to the absence of a legal framework covering visiting soldiers.

This was resolved last year when the Philippine Senate ratified a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which gave Washington jurisdiction over visiting US soldiers who commit crimes while on official duty.

Women activists affiliated with the militant Movement for Nationalist Democracy held a "Valentine's Day protest" outside the US Embassy to denounce the war games.

About 30 women carried red heart-shaped placards which read "Goodbye GI Joe, we don't want you" and "No to US war games."

They burned the placards before peacefully leaving the area 30 minutes later.