An Armed Forces official on Tuesday flagged concerns about potential foreign mapping of the Philippines by a “foreign power” after the arrest of a Chinese software engineer suspected of spying on military and police camps across the country.
“If you look at the entire expanse of the country, covering the different instruments of national power and start connecting the dots, there seems now to be a deliberate and calculated move to map out the country by a foreign power,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said.
Trinidad raised the concern after the Chinese national, identified as Deng Yuanqing, and his two Filipino drivers were arrested last week as part of counter-espionage operations that began last month.
The National Bureau of Investigation said Deng was affiliated with a Chinese university controlled by the People’s Liberation Army and was part of a team sent to “conduct espionage in our territory.”
Deng reportedly made frequent visits to “critical infrastructure, specifically military camps, local government offices, power plants, police camps, stations, even shopping malls.”
Following Deng’s arrest, the National Security Council called on Congress to expedite the passage of amendments to the Espionage Act and other critical legislation aimed at countering evolving security threats in the country.
“In light of these developments, we urge Congress to prioritize the passage of the amendments to the Espionage Act as well as the Countering Foreign Interference and Malign Influence bill,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said.
“Strengthening our legal framework is essential to effectively address evolving security threats and to ensure that those who seek to compromise our national security will face the full force of the law,” he added.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros issued similar views: “The Senate must immediately enhance our existing Anti-Espionage Law…We have to take this seriously for the sake of our national security, our national interest, and our sovereignty.”
Armed Forces chief of staff General Romeo Brawner said it was possible the information Deng’s team was gathering “could be used for military targeting purposes.”
Brawner said it was the second arrest of a suspected Chinese spy since last year and that forensic analysis of equipment seized in the earlier arrest also revealed images of military and police camps in Manila.
Police also said this month they had recovered a suspected Chinese submarine drone in waters off Masbate.
Brawner said authorities were investigating whether all three cases were linked.
The arrest came as maritime confrontations between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea have escalated in recent months.
China claims most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Deng had been in the Philippines for five years and was part of a group that also included hardware engineers and a financier who were still “at large.”
The group received funding of P1.5 million (about $26,000) a week via “shell companies,” the NBI said.
Brawner said security in all military camps and facilities nationwide will be further tightened.
“We have to make sure that our camps are secured – not only in our camps but even vital installations,” Brawner said.