AFP sees 'trend' of foreign nationals linked to espionage in PH

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it has observed a “trend” involving foreign nationals allegedly linked to espionage activities in the country.

At a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said authorities have monitored several incidents in which foreign nationals were apprehended on suspicion of conducting intelligence-gathering activities.

“The recent arrest of a Chinese national in Panglao, Bohol who was trying to misrepresent himself with a fake Philippine driver's license and the arrest of a Mongolian national recently in Zambales with a questionable background follows a trend for the past two years of foreign nationals from China who have allegedly been involved in espionage in country,” Trinidad said.

Aside from these, he also cited a mayor with a dubious background, a Chinese national conducting mapping and eavesdropping using electronic equipment, the installment of monitoring devices in Ulugan Bay in Palawan, as well as those arrested in Grande Island and Chiquita Island.

The Philippine military is closely coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other security agencies to address these issues.

Trinidad said, “The shift of the AFP to looking at the external environment as brought about or mandated by the comprehensive archipelagic defense posture mandated a reassessment of how we could protect the country and the AFP from all threats, foreign and domestic.

“So these are now the results of our shift to [Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept] to be able to look at not only the internal threat situation but even the external threats, external actors." —VAL, GMA Integrated News