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Philippines
Thursday, February 20, 2025
26.1 C
Philippines
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Espionage or legit research?

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes and 40 seconds
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The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying recently that “as always, the Chinese government asks Chinese nationals overseas to abide by local laws and regulations.”

Obviously, their own citizens here did not get the memo from their own government or chose to ignore it completely.

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Otherwise, the recent arrest of several Chinese suspected of espionage here would not engage in a serious crime in our statutes, as in all other countries in the world.

They can thank their lucky stars that we are not engaged in a full-blown war with China despite increased tensions in the West Philippine Sea, or else they would have been promptly blindfolded and made to face a firing squad after their arrest.

As we are a democratic country, we can assure the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that our government would “protect the lawful rights and interests” of Chinese nationals, including one Deng Yuanqing who has been described by the National Bureau of Investigation as a suspected “sleeper agent” and a technical software engineer connected with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The NBI said Deng studied at the PLA-controlled University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, specializing in control engineering and automation systems.

He was arrested in Makati on Jan. 17 along with two Filipino cohorts who acted as his driver and assistant.

Our authorities uncovered enough proof of Deng’s espionage activities. The NBI said Deng engaged in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations “to the prejudice of our national defense.”

Deng and his driver and assistant are alleged to have visited military and police headquarters, municipal halls and other local government offices, and even power installations.

Among the areas they visited were a substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in Batangas province and the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 201st Infantry Brigade in Cavinti, Laguna. The trio also visited the Malampaya gas field off Palawan’s waters.

Armed Forces of the Philippine Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner also revealed that Deng targeted the nine locations in the country selected for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippine and US armed forces.

In “military targeting,” the AFP chief said, information such as activities in the area and the vehicles that can pass through these terrains is vital.

All this took place starting only in December, according to our authorities. The broad scale of this espionage operation shows, in the words of Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, “deliberate and calculated move to map out” the Philippines by a “foreign power.”

If we connect the dots and situate this obvious espionage operation within the context of previous incidents, including the arrest of foreign nationals with fake government IDs and fake birth certificates, as well as the recent discovery of a underwater drone with Chinese markings found in Masbate—the fifth such drone found in various areas now under the custody of the AFP—there’s something really going on here that should merit a deeper probe by our government, despite the disavowal by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs of what appears to be wide-ranging espionage activities in our country by Beijing.

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