American Soldiers Banned From Going To Bars, Clubs In Philippines During the Joint Military Exercises; Murder Trial Of A US Marine Said To Be The Reason

The U.S. soldiers now in the Philippines for joint military exercises have been banned by the Pacific command from visiting bars and nightclubs. This is believed to be fall out of the trial of a U.S. Marine, who has been accused of killing a transgender Filipina, whom he met in a bar in Oct 2014.

Capt. Alex Lim, a spokesman for the U.S. forces told AFP that strict controls have been enforced on the free time of the troops. “There is a 10 p.m. curfew. The restrictions include no bars and clubs," he said. Lim said American soldiers will only be allowed to eat meals "in the vicinity of their place of dwelling.” On Monday, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers, kicked off the 10-days annual joint military exercises known as "Balikatan" or shoulder-to-shoulder war games.

In the above incident, the U.S. marine, Joseph Scott Pemberton, is facing trial for the crime in the Philippines city of Olongapo. Jennifer Laude was found drowned in a toilet bowl on Oct.11 in a motel room. Some activist groups even used the incident to mount attack on the defence ties between the United States and its former colony and staged street protests against the presence of U.S. forces in the country.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Philippine and U.S. soldiers began their biggest combined military exercise in 15 years demonstrating Washington's commitment to its long-time ally. It is also as an effort by the U.S to rebalance Asia in the face of China's expansion in the South China Sea. The 10-day joint military drill is now going on in the islands of Luzon, Palawan and Panay. The war games include bombing runs and troops engaged in live fire drills.

China’s Reaction

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in Beijing that the U.S. and Philippines should "do more that is beneficial to increasing mutual security trust between countries in the region and that is beneficial to regional peace and stability.” China's rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea have alarmed claimants including the Philippines and Vietnam and also drew criticism from U.S. government and the military.

Pacific Pathways

Named as Pacific Pathways by Washington, the military drills are part of a plan to establish a "semi-permanent" U.S. presence in Asia. The joint drills will comprise 29 exercises across 12 countries in the region over the next five years. The exercise comes a few days after the Philippines said it was seeking "substantive" support from the United States on how to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea.

"We make no pretense that we are helping the Philippines as it fields a minimum credible defense," U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg said at the drills' opening ceremony. The exercises are part of a U.S. rebalance to Asia starting with Balikatan in the Philippines, added Major-General Raul del Rosario, as more than 1,000 U.S. Army troops joined the drills at a jungle army base.

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