The United States and the Philippines on Thursday start joint military exercises to combat Muslim extremism in this country's south as part of America's expanded war on terror.
Senior officers from the two Pacific allies are due to preside over formal opening ceremonies at the heavily guarded headquarters of the southern Philippine military command in Zamboanga city, near Basilan island, where Abu Sayyaf guerrillas have been holding a US missionary couple and a Filipina nurse hostage for over eight months.
The United States has listed the Abu Sayyaf as among groups allied with Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
About 600 US soldiers, from the American mainland and from US bases in the Pacific, are to take part in the planned six-month exercises.
The schedule calls for about 160 US Special Forces to join Philippine troops on training patrols in the jungles of Basilan, the Abu Sayyaf stronghold and a largely Muslim island about three times the size of Singapore.
Asked about heavy security around the military headquarters, Colonel Roland Dedatabali, assistance chief for operations said: "There are some groups planning to disrupt the exercises but we will preempt that."
(China Daily January 31, 2002)
