The April 25-May 9 war games will be held in three sites -- two in the north and at a navy base south of Manila, a Philippine military statement said.

The first batch of 450 US soldiers will arrive in the former US naval base of Subic Bay northwest of here on Thursday.

About 2,500 Filipino soldiers will take part in the joint exercises which will involve cross-training, field training and humanitarian assistance, the statement added.

American troops are set to deploy in the coming months for a separate operation on the southern island of Jolo, a hotbed of the Muslim Abu Sayyaf kidnapping group which has been linked by both Washington and Manila to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden.

The Philippines was one of the staunchest Asian supporters of the recent international campaign against terror and the US-led attack on Iraq. As a result, it is widely expected that the poorly-equipped Philippine military will receive increased US military assistance.

SPACE.WIRE