China has expressed support for the Philippines' crackdown on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and called on the country to ban them immediately.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said this following the raids conducted by Philippine law enforcement agencies on several POGO hubs that led to the arrest of some suspects, including Chinese nationals.

In a statement, the Embassy renewed its call on the Philippines to ban POGOs and rejected insinuations that they are connected to China.

"We appeal to the Philippines to ban POGO at an early date so as to root out this social ill," it said, noting that all forms of gambling are prohibited in China.

"We firmly oppose any baseless accusation and smearing against China in connection with POGO," it added.

According to the Chinese Embassy, POGOs are "detrimental" to both Philippine and Chinese interests and images as well as the relationship between the two neighboring countries.

"The Chinese government strictly cracks down on Chinese citizens engaging in gambling business abroad including POGO," it said.

"Ample evidence shows that POGO breeds serious crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, human trafficking, and murder," it added.

China has been coordinating with Philippine law enforcement agencies on multiple joint operations to end cross-border gambling and telecom fraud.

Since 2018, nearly 3,000 Chinese citizens implicated in POGO- and fraud-related cases have been repatriated to China. In the past year alone, China has assisted the Philippines in shutting down five POGO hubs and has repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens.

"The vast majority of the Chinese citizens involved in these cases are victims of the Philippine offshore gambling industry," it said.

"The Chinese government is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens," it added.