The Philippines and the United States on Monday began a scaled-back version of their annual large-scale military exercise amid moves in the Southeast Asian nation's leadership for more independence from its decades-long ally.Exercise spokesman Maj. Celeste Frank Sayson said there are around 6,000 participating troops, consisting of some 2,800 Philippine troops and 2,600 U.S. troops, in this year's "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder) drills.Sayson told Kyodo News that 10-day exercises are focused on humanitarian and disaster response operations, adding that the effects of a category 5 typhoon…READ FULL ARTICLE
