U.S. Marines arrive in Philippines

U.S. Marines arrive in Philippines

PHILIPPINES: About 1,500 U.S. Marines arrived aboard three ships
at a former American naval base on Sunday for a weeklong war
exercise designed to bolster regional security, officials said.

Their arrival at Subic Bay, northwest of Manila, is part of a
series of bilateral military drills and is not connected with
next month's scheduled visit of President George W. Bush, the
officials said.

A row of attack helicopters, their rotor blades tucked down,
stood on the deck of one of the ships, the USS Essex. Some
Marines waved as a crane lifted a Humvee to the pier below.

Throngs of Filipinos, including relatives of some American
soldiers of Philippine descent, stood at a distance on the pier,
snapping photographs of the U.S. ships. --AP