Philippines apprehends Filipinos suspected of spying for China

MANILA – The Philippine government said on March 4 it apprehended some of its citizens on suspicion of spying for China in a “serious national security matter” that underscores the need for stricter laws against espionage and foreign interference.

The authorities did not provide details about the case, including how many people were apprehended or whether charges were filed.

“The operations of these individuals acting on the behest of Chinese intelligence have been addressed and terminated,” the National Security Council (NSC) said in a statement.

“Necessary actions have been taken against the individuals concerned, all Filipino nationals, who have all confessed their complicity in espionage activities and are cooperating with authorities,” it added.

Relations between the Philippines and China have grown increasingly fraught amid repeated confrontations in the South China Sea, with both sides also engaging in an intensifying war of words that has played out on social media.

At least three Filipino nationals were involved, according to two security sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Reuters spoke with the three accused in February under an agreement with security sources on condition that their identities were not revealed.

One of the accused said he was initially approached by a Filipina acquaintance when he was a junior staff at the Department of National Defence with an offer to write opinion articles in return for pay.

That later expanded to providing information related to the South China Sea and the Defence Ministry’s bilateral engagement with Philippine allies including the United States, he said.

He did not immediately realise he was working for Chinese interests and only became suspicious later, but it was hard to stop as he needed the money, he said, adding that he did this work between 2023 and 2025.

In 2025, the Philippine authorities arrested at least a dozen Chinese nationals on suspicion of espionage, accusing them of illegally obtaining sensitive information on military camps and critical infrastructure that could undermine Manila’s national security and defence.

China has dismissed the espionage allegations as fabricated and politically motivated, accusing Manila of “stigmatisation”.

China also arrested three Filipinos in 2025, accusing them of spying.

Philippine lawmakers from both the ruling party and the opposition are seeking to overhaul decades-old espionage laws that would expand their traditionally wartime focus to cover peacetime and cyber-enabled threats.

That would widen the definition of spying to include data breaches and other tech-driven intrusions. Lawmakers are also pushing for a new foreign interference law to address covert influence by external actors.

“When passed into law, these measures would expand the investigative powers of government, allow the prevention and disruption of hostile networks, and protect our sensitive information and critical infrastructure,” the NSC said.

“We assure the public that safeguards are in place and working, and our security agencies remain proactive and vigilant, leading to the success of Philippine counter-intelligence operations,” it added.

China has expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled that China’s claims have no basis under international law. Beijing does not recognise that ruling. REUTERS