Militant Filipino groups demonstrated Tuesday in front of the country's military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo to protest the increased presence of US troops in the Philippines.

The protest, led by members of the leftist Bayan - New Patriotic Alliance, was staged ahead of Wednesday's negotiation between Philippine and US officials on a new agreement that will allow increased rotational presence of American troops in the Philippines to boost maritime security.

"We view that the negotiations and eventual granting of access to US forces and ships will be detrimental to national interest, " Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes said in a briefing.

Reyes said the US won't help the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China.

"The US (is) here to advance its own agenda," he said, adding that the increased US presence in the country will "keep us perpetually dependent and perpetually backward militarily."

Officials said the increased US presence will boost the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.