Hundreds of U.S. troops are set to begin nearly two weeks of joint military exercises with the Philippine military Monday. 

The troops arrived at the former American naval base at Subic Bay near Manila Sunday. 

The new maneuvers, known as Balikatan 2002, bring together more than five-thousand troops from both countries. 

Philippine Army spokesman, Colonel Jose Mabanta, says the goal of the exercise is to improve Philippine and U.S. combat readiness in combined operations. 

In addition, 340 U.S. military engineers were deployed on the southern Philippine island of Basilan to build roads and aircraft landing zones. 

The improvements will assist Philippine forces in their offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, the al-Qaida linked Muslim rebel group. 

Currently, there are 160 U.S. Special Forces training Filipino troops in the pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf rebels in the southern Philippines. 

Meanwhile, a series of bomb explosions has rocked the southern Philippine city of General Santos Sunday, killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 50 others. 

Prior to the blasts, reports said anonymous calls claimed that extremist groups had planted 18 bombs throughout General Santos, a largely Christian city among the predominantly Muslim southern provinces of Mindanao. 

Abu Sayyaf rebels claimed responsibility for the blasts. 

The presence of U.S. forces in the Philippines has generated controversy. A protest by leftist groups at the U.S. Embassy in Manila is planned for Monday. 

But a nationwide poll released Saturday backed President Gloria Arroyo's claim that an overwhelming majority of the country supports the exercises. The leading Manila pollster, Social Weather Stations, reports up to 76 percent of Filipinos favor the U.S. role in the Basilan operation. 

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