The Philippines’ top security official said more people are being probed after authorities apprehended three Filipino nationals for allegedly leaking sensitive information to Beijing, including data on Manila’s operations in the disputed South China Sea.
“There are other cases that we’re investigating,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said yesterday.
The three suspects — a Philippine Department of National Defense assistant, a Philippine Navy researcher and a person close to a Philippine Coast Guard officer — acted at the behest of China, National Security Council Assistant Director-General Cornelio Valencia Jr said.
Photo: Reuters
Ano declined to identify the suspects nor say whether they were charged.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila pushed back against what it called “fabricated” allegations by the Philippines.
“We firmly oppose and strongly deplore irresponsible remarks made by certain Philippine agencies peddling so-called ‘Chinese spy’ narratives,” the embassy on Thursday.
“China follows the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. Such accusations are malicious smears against China and yet another attempt to hype up the so-called ‘China threat’ rhetoric,’” it added.
Ano said no top secret information was disclosed, but sensitive information, including the schedules of resupply missions to Philippine military outposts in the South China Sea and internal conversations were leaked.
The Philippines has said that Chinese coast guard vessels have previously fired water cannons and rammed Manila’s vessels engaged in resupply missions in the contested waters.
The Philippine Coast Guard is looking into the possibility that other officers and their relatives might have been involved in leaking classified information, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said.
Tarriela said he believes the three suspects were paid a “sizeable” amount of money, but did not disclose by who.
Ano called on Filipinos, especially government personnel, to be vigilant about job offers that could lead them to “a situation where you are made to be a spy and you become a traitor to our country.”
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS