MANILA – Philippine authorities announced the arrests of six Chinese nationals and a Filipino suspected of spying on U.S. and Philippine navy vessels at the entrance of the strategically located Subic Bay.
The arrests of the Chinese suspects, who officials said were posing as fishermen, brought to 12 the number of Chinese citizens taken into custody in the Philippines this year for alleged espionage. The cases have unfolded against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing in the contested South China Sea.
The seven suspects were arrested on March 19 after Philippine military intelligence alerted the National Bureau of Investigation about “foreign nationals suspected of carrying out covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations” around Grande Island at the entrance of Subic Bay, the NBI said in a statement Wednesday.
The six Chinese “were closely monitored for engaging in deemed suspicious activities, involving a collection of sensitive data” affecting national defense, the bureau said. A Filipino national, who was acting as their security guard, was also arrested.
“Counter-intelligence efforts disclosed that these individuals were occupying the island under the guise of recreational fishers, frequently lingering at the wharves until the wee hours,” NBI director Jaime Santiago said.
“However, multiple witnesses reported that the group was utilizing drones in the guise of transporting fishing bait – conducting surveillance on naval assets, including those from local forces and allied nations, passing through Grande Island,” he said.
Located at the mouth of Subic Bay, Grande Island was once an artillery training ground for American forces. From 1901 to 1992, Subic Bay was home to the largest U.S. naval base outside of America.
The Chinese nationals were identified as He Peng, Xu Xining, Ye Tianwu, Ye Xiaocan, Dick Ang and Su Anlong. The Filipino suspect was identified as Melvin Aguillon.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment. China’s foreign ministry had not yet reacted to the arrests.
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A witness told the NBI that the men were “operating a drone, in the guise of a fishing game, conducting their usual ISR operations towards Subic Bay,” on March 18, the bureau said, referring to “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”
The bureau said it seized “photographs and documents of Philippine and U.S. Naval assets,” as well as electronic gadgets containing surveillance photos and videos.
Because of Grande Island’s strategic location, it allowed “the group to monitor naval assets entering and exiting Subic Bay during maritime patrols or joint naval exercises in the West Philippine Sea,” Santiago said, using the Philippine name for South China Sea waters within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
Further NBI investigation showed that one of the arrested men, Ye Tianwu-also known as Qui Feng or Quing Feng-had an outstanding arrest warrant issued by a local court in Tarlac province for alleged violations of the country’s securities code.
In January, the NBI arrested six Chinese nationals accused of spying.
One of them was Deng Yuanqing, a software engineer, who allegedly used spy equipment as he drove around critical sites in Manila between December and January. The other five Chinese nationals were arrested in separate operations in the same month.
Authorities said they had been seen frequenting areas in Palawan, another island facing the South China Sea, and collecting intelligence about Philippine Navy activities there.
Subic Bay, about 50 miles northwest of Manila on Luzon island, is considered strategically important because it opens onto the South China Sea and is close to the contested Scarborough Shoal.
The shoal, located within the Philippines’ EEZ, has been under China’s de facto control since 2012.
In recent years, rival territorial claimants Manila and Beijing have faced off in high-stakes confrontations in the shoal and other disputed areas of the South China Sea, a potentially mineral-rich waterway and crucial corridor for international shipping.
Jeoffrey Maitem in Davao contributed to this report.
BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia.
