Seeing China Reds Under The Beds In The Philippines


(MENAFN- Asia Times) MANILA – As tensions swirl and twirl over territories at sea, Philippine authorities are shifting their gaze to perceived Chinese influence operations aimed at penetrating and surveilling crucial installments and facilities on Philippine soil.

Legislators from northern Philippine provinces have recently raised alarm bells over the sudden large influx of Chinese students into Cagayan, which has been ruled by an openly pro-Beijing governor in recent years.

Meanwhile, the curious case of Alice Guo , a newly-elected mayor in a small town close to the Clark Air Base and other vital military facilities, has triggered official fears of possible Chinese“sleeper cell” agents lodged at or near various strategic locations across the country.

Adding to the paranoia and fear, top Philippine authorities are now openly advocating for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats allegedly involved in influence operations on Philippine soil, which have reportedly targeted no less than a top Philippine admiral .

The upshot is an alarming and rapid deterioration in bilateral diplomatic relations just as the two sides sleepwalk toward a potential armed conflict in the South China Sea, a clash that could quickly draw the US and its allies into the fray.

Concerns over China's influence operations in the Philippines were first raised when Chinese online gaming sites, officially known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs), mushroomed near strategic facilities across Metro-Manila under the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte presidency.

As many 130,000 Chinese workers and online casino operators clustered around various vital Philippine bases, including Camp Aguinaldo, which hosts the Philippine Army and the National Defense Department's offices, the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame and the Philippine Air Force and Navy headquarters.

Then-national security adviser Hermogenes Esperon warned at the time that a large number of Chinese citizens, many of whom were reputedly“undocumented” or entered the country under“false documentation”, posed a national security threat.

“You'd also start getting worried when a whole building, condominium, tower is occupied by only one nationality where you would not be able to guard all their activities...Some unwelcome activities could transpire there so we need to prevent those,” the Philippine national security chief warned in 2019.

MENAFN18052024000159011032ID1108228739


Asia Times

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.