A SNAPPY salute to Philippine intelligence authorities following the arrests of five more Chinese nationals, claiming to be tourists from Taiwan, suspected of spying on coast guard and navy installations.
The five – there are now six arrested and detained – have been individually identified by the authorities, and comes in the thick of heightened tensions within the Philippines’ 200-mile economic zone with Chinese vessels harassing Filipino vessels on humanitarian missions and Filipino fishermen hacking out a living in the area.
The West Philippine Sea is a potentially mineral-rich waterway in what is called the South China Sea, a crucial corridor for international shipping.
The arrests followed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s offer to make a deal with China – thus far there has been no response — over US Typhon missile system deployed in the north of the country, intended to enhance bilateral defense and security.
The US Army’s mobile Typhon missile system, consisting of a launcher and at least 16 Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, was repositioned about two weeks ago from the northern Philippines to a strategic area nearer Manila.
Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which puts parts of mainland China within their range. The missile system will remain in the Philippines indefinitely, official military sources said.
The five arrested suspects used LiDAR sensors, which can capture precise location details and transmit data in real time – which argues against the claim they were tourists.
LiDAR, for Light Detection and Ranging, sensors are devices that use lasers to measure distances and create 3D models of their surroundings and are used in many applications, including autonomous vehicles, mapping, and disaster assessment.
It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth, and these light pulses – combined with other data recorded by the airborne system – generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
Authorities believe those arrested “have engaged in aerial reconnaissance via drone operations, collecting data from the Philippines’ naval assets, among others” in Palawan, on the front door of Manila’s maritime dispute with Beijing.
The Chinese nationals were allegedly working with Deng Yuanqing, another Chinese arrested earlier in January along with two supposed Filipino accomplices on similar charges, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.
What is mind-boggling is those arrested are all members of the civic groups Qiaoxing Volunteer Group of the Philippines and the Philippine-China Association of Promotion of Peace and Friendship, Inc. from whom no immediate comment has been available.
The NBI has custody of the suspects, with three facing espionage and Anti-Cybercrime Law violation cases before the Makati Regional Trial Court. All have pleaded not guilty.
Authorities are also pointing to a person under investigation in China, believed to be directing both teams of alleged spies.
Let’s swing into action and bring to book all the suspected spies, pretending to be tourists.
