By AFP and Focus | 2026-03-11

MANILA, the Philippines -- Philippine authorities have apprehended three defense personnel who allegedly spied on behalf of China in what the country's security agency has described as a "serious national security matter," its spokesman said March 5.

The trio, who worked for the Philippine Department of National Defense, navy and coast guard, provided their Chinese handlers with lists of military personnel and other sensitive information, National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Cornelio Valencia told AFP.

Operational details about resupply missions in the contested South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have frequently clashed in recent years, were also included in the information handed over, he said.

"There was co-optation over a period of time," Valencia said of efforts to woo the defense personnel, whom he described as low-level analysts.

"At the start you are not aware. And then you're surprised they're already asking you for sensitive data."

"At the end of the day, it's always money," he said of their motives.

Suspects are cooperating

Valencia said the three, whose identities he did not disclose, were now actively cooperating with the government "to ensure we no longer have a problem."

Valencia said the arrests resulted from joint operations by several Philippine agencies under an "Insider Threat Program," which the NSC described as an interagency effort dealing with espionage and other foreign-directed malign activities.

In a statement released late March 4, the NSC said it had "addressed and terminated" operations taken at "the behest of Chinese intelligence," without offering details of the alleged espionage.

"For reasons of national security, we cannot discuss identities, methods, or timelines so as not to jeopardize ongoing operations," the security agency said.

"Nonetheless, 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."

A fourth suspect has refused to cooperate, navy spokesman Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad told Philstar.

Endangering other troops

The compromised data included rotation and resupply schedules for Philippine missions in the South China Sea, Valencia said, according to Reuters.

"Rotation and resupply data fall under operational security because disclosing it can endanger personnel, and that has been compromised," he said, adding that Manila had shut down the channels used for transmitting the data.

One suspect obtained details of troop deployments and resupply operations through a contact in the Philippine coast guard and passed them to a handler using a hidden phone messaging app, Reuters reported.

One suspect's information led to China ramming a Philippine coast guard vessel at Sabina Shoal, Trinidad told Philstar.

China rejected the allegations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said March 5 that it opposed the allegations and that "the case is not clear and there is no conclusive evidence."

The NSC statement cited a recent investigation by local outlet Rappler, which first reported that Chinese handlers had sought information about maritime deployments and resupply missions in the South China Sea.

Previous arrests

The Philippines last year announced multiple arrests of Chinese nationals in connection with alleged espionage.

In April, a Chinese man was apprehended while operating a surveillance device near the offices of the Philippine election commission, authorities said, less than two weeks before the country's midterm elections.

The man was allegedly using an "IMSI catcher," a device capable of mimicking a cell tower and snatching messages from the air in a 1- to 3km radius.

Two Chinese men detained in February 2025 were accused of using the same device while driving near sensitive government and military locations in Manila.