"If you go to certain parts of the Philippine island of Palawan this week, you are likely to witness something rather unusual.
You might see a whole wave of speedboats coming to shore, launched from a military warship.
Or US troops discussing a huge theoretical earthquake; or large numbers of them building schools, or practising first aid.
It is the time of year when the Philippines-US military war games get under way - an arrangement from which both countries stand to gain.
The often ill-equipped and inexperienced Philippine troops get a chance to learn from American expertise, while for the US, it is an opportunity to cement its relationship with one of its closest and longest-standing regional allies.
The code name for these exercises is Balikatan - Filipino for shoulder-to-shoulder - to emphasise the closeness between the two nations.
But for officials in China, which is much closer to the Philippines geographically, these exercises could well have the opposite effect.
Instead of feeling shoulder-to-shoulder with Manila, they are more likely to feel they are being given the cold shoulder.
Disputed territory
The games are happening at a time when tensions are already high between China and the Philippines over disputed territorial rights in the South China Sea".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17699176
