More than 200 American and Filipino soldiers on Monday began a five-day joint training exercise in the northern Philippines, a military statement said. The exercise, dubbed Talon Vision 06, is a multi-service ground-air integrated training to improve the interoperability, combat readiness and professional relationship between the Filipino and U.S. troops. The Philippine military said 70 American soldiers were participating in the exercise with 170 of their Filipino counterparts. The training was being held in the former American Clark airbase in Angeles City, 60 kilometers south of Manila, which has been transformed into an economic zone. The activity was the third in a series of Talon Vision training exercises which was started in 2001. American troops were also training Filipino soldiers in the southern city of Zamboanga in a bid to boost the country's fight against terrorism.
