MANILA. The Philippine government raised alarm on Saturday following reports that three Filipinos were arrested in China on suspicion of espionage, calling the move potentially retaliatory amid ongoing tensions between the two countries over intelligence operations and maritime disputes.
According to a report by China Daily earlier this week, Chinese authorities apprehended three Filipino nationals and accused them of working for Philippine intelligence to gather classified military information. Chinese state security officials claimed that the suspects had already confessed to the crime.
However, the Philippine National Security Council (NSC) strongly disputed Beijing’s claims, asserting that the individuals in question were “ordinary Filipino citizens with no military training” who had been in China under a government scholarship program.
“They are ordinary Filipino citizens with no military training who merely went to China at the invitation of the Chinese government to study,” said NSC spokesperson Jonathan Malaya in an official statement.
“They are law-abiding citizens with no criminal records and were vetted and screened by the Chinese government prior to their arrival there,” he added.
The three Filipinos were reportedly former scholars under a bilateral agreement between Hainan province in China and Palawan province in the Philippines. Both coastal provinces lie adjacent to the South China Sea, a critical and contested maritime region where China and the Philippines have frequently clashed.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila has not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Malaya also suggested that the arrests could be politically motivated and in retaliation for Manila’s ongoing operations against suspected Chinese intelligence activities within Philippine territory.
“The arrests can be seen as a retaliation for the series of legitimate arrests of Chinese agents and accomplices by Philippine law enforcement,” Malaya noted.
Over the past three months, Philippine authorities have arrested at least a dozen Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in espionage. These individuals are accused of illegally gathering sensitive information related to military facilities and critical infrastructure — actions that, according to Philippine officials, pose serious threats to national security.
The latest development adds another layer of tension to Manila’s already strained relationship with Beijing, especially concerning overlapping claims in the South China Sea. China maintains expansive territorial claims in the area despite a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that found Beijing’s assertions to be without legal basis—a decision China continues to reject.
With reports from Reuters
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
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