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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DND chief Teodoro to China: Stop spying on PH

DND chief Teodoro to China: Stop spying on PH

Published Feb 5, 2025 04:32 am

Amid already tensed relations with China, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. asked Beijing to stop its spying activities that target Philippine officials and infrastructure.

Teodoro_NZL.jpgDefense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. (left) delivers his speech at the Waitangi Day Reception in Makati City. Also in the photo is New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Catherine McIntosh (Raymund Antonio/MANILA BULLETIN)

The defense chief was a guest during the Waitangi Day Reception held by the New Zealand Embassy in Makati City on Tuesday night, Feb. 4.

“We are very aware of these attempts. And as a responsible country, China should put a stop with these illicit activities,” he said.

He insisted that the activities could very well be state-sponsored because of “an agent of their security service.”

“So, by their own legal internal act, they criminalize themselves,” Teodoro pointed out.

His remarks came after a series of arrests of alleged Chinese spy, including a Rappler report on Steve Zhang, verified as an agent of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) who purportedly conducted intelligence gathering and set up an espionage and influence network under his cover as a reporter for a Shanghai-based publication.

Since the report came out in August 2024, Zhang has not returned to the Philippines.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also confirmed a GMA News report that two Chinese were caught taking videos of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel in Palawan.

The two were nabbed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) upon their arrival from the province, while four of their cohorts, also Chinese nationals, were arrested in different locations.

These arrests were made just over a week after Deng Yuanqing, along with his two Filipino drivers, were arrested for suspected espionage after they gathered information from and about military facilities and critical Philippine infrastructure.

Teodoro refused to say whether he had fallen victim to spying, but said he is aware of such activities.

“And troll farms are active and that is why we are also working closely with the legislature to amend the espionage law and foreign corrupt practices,” he added.

But amid the backdrop of Beijing’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, including in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea, the DND secretary stressed the need to strengthen the military’s defense capabilities.

“This is a struggle. What’s next is, you know on my end, is to fortify and strengthen the defense establishments and to build up a deterrent capability which is extremely important,” he said.

China has ramped up its aggressive activities in the resource-rich region, which it claims almost in its entirety, including the EEZs of its neighbors—the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei.

While the Philippines has pushed back against these actions, including a 2016 arbitral tribunal victory that invalidated the basis of Beijing’s claim, China refused to heed the international community’s call to heed international maritime laws.

Related Tags

Gilbert Teodoro South China Sea Chinese nationals espionage
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