Left-wing protesters in the Philippines have splattered paint on the seal of the US Embassy to demand a pullout of American troops taking part in annual war games.
About 70 student activists took police and embassy guards by surprise early Monday when they threw blue-and-red paint at the seaside mission’s main gate and scrawled ‘US troops out now.’
They also chipped away letters from the bronze signage and burned a mock American flag.
No arrests were made as protesters outnumbered police and protestors later walked away.
US and Philippine military officials say nearly 7,000 American and Filipino troops have begun two weeks of major military exercises but they stress that China is not an imaginary target.
Philippine army Maj Emmanuel Garcia said Monday that the annual drills, called Balikatan or shoulder-to-shoulder, will include combat maneuvers involving the mock retaking by US-backed Filipino troops of an oil rig supposedly seized by terrorists near the South China Sea.
US Marine Lt Col Curtis Hill says most other events will focus on humanitarian missions and disaster-response drills.
Beijing has protested military drills involving Americans near the South China Sea, where it is locked with the Philippines and four other nations in territorial rifts.
