U.S., Philippines scale back next month's military drills, no more 'war games'

MANILA (Reuters) - About 5,000 American and Philippine troops will hold humanitarian exercises next month instead of annual war games, scaling back military drills in response to President Rodrigo Duterte's disdain for their longstanding defence alliance.

Troops taking part in "Balikatan" will simulate a response to a devastating super typhoon in the central Philippines, modelled on typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed at least 6,300 people and left more than 200,000 families homeless.