NSC: More arrests coming after capture of alleged Chinese spy

Metro Manila, Philippines - The National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday, Jan. 29, said “there will be more arrests” following the apprehension of a Chinese national conducting alleged espionage activities targeting military sites.

Authorities arrested Deng Yuanqing, along with two Filipino accomplices, in Makati City on Jan. 17 after seizing spying equipment.

RELATED STORIES:

Gov’t probes China espionage activities after alleged spy arrest

Wife of Chinese national held in Philippines denies he is a spy

China has dismissed accusations of Chinese spies, saying they were baseless, but NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya told a news conference the government has a “solid case.”

“This individual will have his day in court…we have a very solid case and we have all the necessary [evidence] to prove his culpability,” Malaya said.

After Deng’s arrest, two suspected Chinese spies were caught in Palawan.

Residents raised alarm that the two foreigners, who claimed they were Taiwanese tourists, took a cellphone video of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the area, and even set up a closed-circuit television camera pointing at the sea.

“Nakakalap tayo ng maraming ebidensya, nakuha natin cellphone, equipment nila, lumalabas na grupo nga sila,” Malaya said.

[Translation: We have gathered evidence, we got their cellphones and equipment, it really shows they are a group.]

“We have ramped up our counterintelligence efforts,” the NSC official said. “And because of that, we are slowly unraveling the conspiracy, the operation being done by foreign actors to conduct espionage in the Philippines.”

Malaya said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is expected to hold a news conference this week to announce more arrests of suspected Chinese spies, including those arrested in Palawan.

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio pushed to “update” laws pertaining to national security.

“We are now in the cyber age, and the Chinese don’t have to send their people here,” Carpio said on the same forum. “They can just send robots, drones to gather information or use Filipinos here.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, meanwhile, is checking the “bigger picture” on security issues.

“Tinitingnan natin how it connects to [the] geopolitical tensions we are facing, pati yong drones recovered in the seas,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said.

[Translation: We are looking at how it connects to the geopolitical tensions we are facing, including the drones recovered in the seas.]

Padilla was referring to the five submersible drones recovered by fisherfolk from various areas in the country, which were still under forensic examination. 

The Philippine Navy previously said the underwater drone found off the coast of Masbate was designed to gather data valuable to military purposes and applications.