The US embassy in the Philippines said Tuesday that military maneuvers between US and domestic troops will resume next month after its suspension last month when a Philippine court refused to transfer custody of Daniel Smith, a US Marine convicted of raping a Filipina, to the US embassy. In a statement, the US embassy said that the Balikatan exercises will be conducted from February 8 to March 4, focusing on civil-military operations like bringing medical assistance to war-torn areas where alleged Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants are active. Dozens of US troops are deployed on Jolo island in humanitarian projects, but officials said they also helped provide intelligence data that led to the killings of the two top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf. Kenney’s statement as she joined US troops in distributing relief goods to Bicol victims of a recent supertyphoon, preceded the arrival on Wednesday of US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes . Hughes’ three-day visit will be capped by a one-on-one meeting with President Arroyo . She will also meet with other government officials and visit Sulu , where American troops are helping the Philippine military supposedly to flush out Islamic militants. Meanwhile, activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Tuesday said it opposes the resumption of the RP-US military exercises by launching a nationwide mass protests on February 8.
The US embassy in the Philippines said Tuesday that military maneuvers between US and domestic troops will resume next month after its suspension last month when a Philippine court refused to transfer custody of Daniel Smith, a US Marine a Filipina, to the US embassy. In a statement, the US embassy said that the Balikatan exercises will be conducted from February 8 to March 4, focusing on civil-military operations like bringing medical assistance to war-torn areas where alleged Al Qaeda-linked militants are active. Dozens of US troops are deployed on in humanitarian projects, but officials said they also helped provide intelligence data that led to the killings of the two top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf. Kenney’s statement as she joined US troops in distributing relief goods to Bicol victims of a recent supertyphoon, preceded the arrival on Wednesday of US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs . Hughes’ three-day visit will be capped by a one-on-one meeting with . She will also meet with other government officials and visit , where American troops are helping the Philippine military supposedly to flush out Islamic militants. Meanwhile, activist group on Tuesday said it opposes the resumption of the RP-US military exercises by launching a nationwide mass protests on February 8.
D
convicted of raping
D
Abu Sayyaf
D
Jolo island
D
Karen Hughes
D
President Arroyo
D
Sulu
D
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan