A Chinese coast guard vessel used a water cannon near a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries ship in the South China Sea, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. (AFP)
At least three Filipino officers admitted that they are part of the Chinese intelligence network on March 21. The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) disclosed a Chinese-linked clandestine operation on March 4. Two days later, arrests of at least three officers who were working for the Navy, the Department of National Defence, and the Philippine Coast Guard were made on March 6.
A revealing report released on March 21 by Rappler uncovered the specific method of recruitment and mode of communication among agents. One suspect who is under military custody stated that the spying networks include a recruitment of officers facing salary shortfalls, but with access to confidential information.
Moreover, one source from the ABS-CBN News reported that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) intruder provided sensitive information on the vital logistics operations, which allow warships to stay at sea for extended periods without returning to port.
The suspects were caught in a counter-intelligence operation and confessed to operating under the banner of the Chinese intelligence network, admitting that they had given access to sensitive information in the West Philippine Sea. One detainee stated that Tetris was used as a communication medium and utilised fake delivery food to transfer incentives.
This clandestine operation had already been flagged by the Filipino security agency since 2024. It was when they found numerous Chinese ‘students’ in Cagayan, a province across from Taiwan alleged of conducting espionage.
In the same year, the Philippines authorities arrested Alice Guo, then mayor of Bamban, who was linked to a raided illegal gambling hub (POGO). A year later, authorities arrested Deng Yuanqing and other Chinese nationals for mapping military complexes in Luzon. In early 2026,
As is widely known, both China and the Philippines often engage in tension across the South China Sea, the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal. These disputes are due from the existence of overlapping claims that were related to China’s ten-dash lines. Moreover, China is constructing artificial islands and often conducts offensive actions directed at the Filipino authorities that patrol in the disputed waters.
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