Security officials said Thursday they arrested five more Chinese spies, following the detention of another Chinese national and two of his Filipino cohorts for espionage this month.
Two of the suspects were arrested at the NAIA Terminal 3, while the others were nabbed in Pasay City, Dumaguete City, and Intramuros, Manila.
National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago told a news conference the men used a drone to document goings-on at a naval detachment, coast guard ships, an air base, a naval base, and a dockyard in Palawan province, the closest major landmass to the Spratlys.
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The suspects also used advanced technologies such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real-time Kinematics (RTK).
“This group, based on our surveillance confession of our witnesses, was monitoring Palawan. They placed a high-resolution solar-powered camera focusing on our seas where our ships are travelling to and from the West Philippine Sea,” Santiago said.
Among the areas the group was monitoring were the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay, a Coast Guard Station, the Antonio Bautista Air Base, the Del Pilar Class PS-16 Naval Base, and the backyard of Philippine Navy, Santiago said.
“We consider them very dangerous to national security because of course, if this falls into other hands, this could be very dangerous for our personnel in the base and also those on board our ships,” Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner added.
Some of the arrested Chinese nationals posed as Taiwan tourists in Palawan, provincial board member Ryan Maminta told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
“That’s the information we got – they took videos and set up CCTV cameras in the area. They posed as Taiwanese tourists in our province,” Maminta said.
The NBI said the suspected spies posed as buyers of marine products in Barangay Buenavista in Puerto Princesa City.
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The arrest came after authorities nabbed Chinese software engineer Deng Yuanqing and his Filipino associates Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jayson Amado Fernandez for reportedly spying on military and police camps—allegations that were dismissed by the Chinese embassy in Manila.
NBI cybercrime unit chief Jeremy Lotoc said Thursday an unnamed “foreign national” was giving orders to Deng.
Some of the suspects have been living in the Philippines since 2002 and did not have any criminal records, Immigration bureau spokeswoman Dana Sandoval said.
Beijing claims most of the strategic South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the fresh arrests. With AFP
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Authorities nab more Chinese nationals for spying ops in WPS”