Philippines | Police disperse group protesting US, China

Philippine riot police used shields and a water hose Saturday to disperse more than 100 left-wing activists in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila in a confrontation that injured more than a dozen protesters.

The farmers and workers belonging to the militant Bayan group burned cardboard showing the U.S. and Chinese flags at the end of an hourlong protest outside the embassy and were leaving the area when they were stopped by the police, who insisted that they use a side road.

A melee then ensued with the police using a water hose from one of three fire trucks and their shields to drive away the protesters, some of whom were seen in a video trying to fight back with flag poles and rocks.

Paul Carson, an information officer for the protesters, said at least 13 were brought to the hospital with bruises and other injuries. No arrests were reported.

The flag-waving protesters first converged at a Chinese consulate in the financial district of Makati to protest China’s assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea, then marched in the rain for more than 5 kilometers (3 miles) to the heavily secured U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest alleged U.S. meddling in the Philippines.

After the dispersal, the protesters marched to the presidential palace in Manila and said they plan to join a protest today in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s annual state of the nation address. AP