US troops vow to behave while in RP

They ain't misbehaving.

As more than 300 American soldiers arrived yesterday in Manila for joint military exercises with Filipino soldiers, their spokesperson gave assurances of their good behavior

"Most of our military personnel have great respect for the countries they have visited. We have similar exercises in Thailand and Japan and around the world and 99.9 percent of them have behaved very well," Maj. Ann Freed said.

The troops form the first batch of American soldiers who will take part in the first large-scale joint military exercise with Filipino troops dubbed "Balikatan 2000."

Freed was obviously referring to critics of the exercise, many of whom have expressed apprehensions that the arrival of the American soldiers may lead to problems similar to those experienced when the US had two military bases in the country.

In Cebu City, protesters scuffled with police outside a restaurant patronized by US soldiers who are not taking part in the exercise. The soldiers were on a rest-and-resupply stop on their way back to Okinawa, Japan.

A Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) covering the conduct of the exercises, which was approved by the Senate last year, provides legal protection for Americans involved in military exercises.

Freed said a total of 3,500 US soldiers will take part in the joint exercises, including 900 aboard ships at sea. Only about 1,000 will be on land at any given time, she added

The soldiers will also undertake civil-military operations like providing dental, medical and veterinary services to local communities. They will also build two school buildings during their stay, Freed added.

Freed said the soldiers will be in "various locations" in Luzon until the exercises end on March 3. Other soldiers are due before Feb. 20, when the second phase of the exercises begins.

The 320 US soldiers arrived on board a chartered World Airways DC-10 jetliner. A day before, a C-5 Galaxy plane unloaded military equipment that would be used in the military exercises to be held at Clark Field in Pampanga, Subic Bay in Zambales and Manila Bay.

Immigration Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez earlier issued the guidelines covering the entry of the soldiers. Rodriguez said that except for civilian personnel, the soldiers need only to present their identification cards issued by US military authorities for admission into the country.

Large-scale military exercises were suspended in 1996 after Manila closed a loophole shielding US military personnel from prosecution for crimes committed in the Philippines. - With AP