Manila secures U.S. sailors

Manila secures U.S. sailors

MANILA (DPA): Extra police have been placed on duty in the Philippine capital to protect visiting U.S. sailors following threats from communist rebels, a U.S. Embassy official said on Thursday.

Almost 1,000 crew aboard the USS Blue Ridge based in Yokosuka, Japan, arrived early on Thursday in Manila for a five-day goodwill visit. "We hope they will be safe," said U.S. Press Attache Tom Skipper, who added that all precautions had been taken.

The USS Blue Ridge's visit is the first visit of a major U.S. naval vessel since 1996. It follows the passage in May of a controversial defence pact between the U.S. and the Philippines called the Visiting Forces Agreement.

Pact opponents, which include the Communist Party of the Philippines, say the agreement could pave the way for calls by possibly nuclear-armed warships in violation of a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons. Communist rebels have threatened to attack or abduct sailors who "commit crimes against Filipinos".