U.S. Had Trained Troops to Defend Spratlys
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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the U.S. military was training Philippine soldiers to defend the Spratly Islands against China until she asked them to shift to fighting the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group.
It was the first time a Philippine leader has acknowledged that China was a target of U.S.-Philippine military exercises. Officials have stressed in the past that such exercises were “not directed at any particular country, adversary or notional enemy.”
In her weekly radio program, Arroyo said U.S. military aid to the Philippines has risen from $1.9 million when she took office in 2001 to $400 million.
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