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".