FOUR US Marines refused to answer rape charges against them yesterday in the Philippines, prompting the judge to enter a not guilty plea for them in a case that has stirred emotions about the US military presence in the ex-American colony.

THE United States yesterday refused a Philippine request to hand over four marines charged with rape, provoking anti-American protests in the capital and the Muslim south, where US troops began annual counter-terrorism training of Filipino soldiers.

Four US Marines were charged with rape in the Philippines today.