MANILA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military said Friday it has canceled joint war games with the Philippine military after a dispute with Philippine authorities over custody of a U.S. serviceman convicted of raping a Filipina, local media reported.

    Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said he will also halt aid and reconstruction programs carried out by the American military in the Philippines until he is confident the troops' legal rights will be protected under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a report by local ANC TV quoted the New York Times as saying.

    Fallon said he already had ordered the withdrawal of an aid team in the Philippines that was assessing needs of a typhoon-ravaged area, and canceled a number of visits by American ships.

    He also canceled the field exercise portions of the Balikatan exercises, which was to open in coming weeks and involve 4,700 American and 3,000 Philippine military personnel, he said.

    "I'm not the judge of the guilt or innocence of the individual. The issue is only one of custody. I am responsible to our people in uniform. I have to have guarantees that I can trust their safety to an international agreement," Fallon added.

    Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kirstie Kenney Monday signed an agreement for Subic rape convict Daniel Smith to be turned over to the U.S. embassy after a local judge ordered him incarcerated at the Makati City Jail.

    Kenney earlier said a court verdict ordering Smith detained at the Makati City Jail violates a VFA provision regarding custody of U.S. military personnel accused of violating Philippine laws.

    Under the VFA, U.S. authorities would retain custody of American servicemen accused of violating Philippine laws until the end of all judicial proceedings.

    The Court of Appeals earlier denied Smith's petition for a temporary restraining order on the judge's decision to detain him at the Makati City Jail until the Philippine and U.S. governments agree on a facility where he will serve his sentence.

    On Dec. 4, Smith was convicted of raping a woman now known only as "Nicole" inside a moving van at Subic Bay Free Port on the night of Nov. 1 last year.