The alleged Chinese spies have given the Filipine City and Cash Police and Motorcycles

Bangkok/Manila – Four Chinese resortisants accused of spy Philippines drove affiliated groups of Chinese communist parties, who made cash donations to a Filipino city and vehicles to two police forces, according to photos, videos and online posts seen by Reuters.

Wang Yongyi, Wu Junren, Cai Shaohuang and Chen Haitao were among five Chinese men detained by Philippine investigators at the end of January for gathering images and maps of the Philippine Naval Forces near the Sea of ​​South China.

The five men flew drones to spy on the Navy of the Philippines, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), adding that he has found photos and maps of some sites and sensitive ships on their phones. A high official of the NBI told Reuters that men were accused of espionage, who has a prison of up to twenty years.

Reuters could not identify a men’s lawyer or could not determine how he intends to plead. They did not speak public about their arrests and questions aimed at them through the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not answer.

The four men were leaders of the civic groups supervised by the external influence network of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to Reuters’s review and the multimedia posted by the two groups and in the Filipine Media.

Wang, Wu and Cales made donations to the city of Tarlac and police forces through groups supported by the Chinese in 2022 and continued to host officials at events by 2024. Reuters could not determine the reason for donations.

Tarlac hosts major military bases, including one used by the Philippines and the United States for living fire exercises during annual military exercises. The base photos in the area were not among the sites that NBI said were found on men’s devices.

All the five detained men also met with China’s military attachment in Manila, the senior colonel Li Jianzhong, at least once in the weeks prior to their arrest, Reuters found. In addition, images and videos show Wang, Wu and horses that meet at least three times in 2024, including in May, when he opened the office of Civic Groups in Manila.

Details about the donations made by men, their interaction with Li and their association with CCP have not been previously reported.

The connections revealed by Reuters go beyond the public statements made by the Philippines investigators, who said that men were disguised as “harmless” members of a legitimate organization.

NBI said that men were detained after “hot” operations. Did not specify for who men were suspected. But Beijing denied the spy accusations, which the state media marked the “smear tactic” of a nation whose Chinese policy “creeps into a impulsive and irrational abyss.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and its Embassy in Manila did not respond to the comment applications.

The office of the mayor of Manila, whose police force took motorcycles from men, said in response to Reuters’s questions that “the deed of donation and motorcycles … has proved to be in order.”

The mayor of Tarlac and the two police forces did not respond to the comment requests.

Philippines does not have a specific law of foreign interference, but is currently drafting one against the increasing tensions. Government agencies are allowed to receive donations, but the contributions of the foreign authorities must be approved by the president, according to the guidelines.

The practice of donations was criticized by academics and non-profit international transparency, who mentioned that Philippine leaders have sometimes used such donations to request bribe. Reuters has not discovered any evidence of bribes in this case.

An academic paper co-written by the Philippine Rear admiration Rommel Jude NGG and posted this month on the platform of the social science research network, said that the Chinese companies and networks in the diaspora served as “critical intermediaries” in promoting the Beijing Agenda and the local Philippine governments were “economical donations ”.

China has said that countries, including Australia, who have tried to give up foreign interference by adopting new laws harm bilateral relations.

China’s “magic weapon”

The working department of the Front Front at the CCP supervises the influence operations performed by the Chinese diaspora and was once described by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “magical weapon”. The US State Department says it has entered governments around the world “through propaganda and public manipulation and sensitive persons.”

Philippines has arrested at least eight alleged Chinese spies in recent weeks. Their possessions have supplied tensions between the two countries, which share a maritime border and have contradictory claims on the territory of the South China Sea.

Manila, an ally of the US Treaty, has become a geopolitical struggle between the two superpowers, especially since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. restored the country to the orbit of Washington, after a pivot in Beijing, under its predecessor.

Recent arrests demonstrate the need for “Philippines” to reconfigure their national security prospects beyond traditional or conventional security threats, “said Don Mclain Gill, an expert in international relations at Salle in Manila.

A spokesman for the Philippine government did not approach the questions sent through a messaging application.

“Say good Chinese stories”

Wang, Wu, Cales and Chen lead the Chinese Philippine Association of Promoting Peace and Friendship, a civic group founded in 2016. The association leaders in 2022 formed a second entity, the group of Qiaoxing volunteers.

Groups share a website that advertises their CCP affiliation. Both are supervised by the all-China Federation of Over Seas (ACFROC), an organism led by CCP engaged in united front works, while Beijing terms influence operations.

The site seemed to be no longer accessible from February 28.

The officials of the Front Work work department spoke at the meetings of the Philippines groups, according to the site and a social media ACFro account, with the latest event that took place in May 2024.

Filipino officials have raised concerns about the united front activities. The military chief declared in July, the united front “slowly entered our country and tried to influence various sectors of our society.”

The detained men were openly presented as the promotion of Chinese interests. In an article in the reporting of social networks of the branch of the province of Shandong of ACFroc, Ca was quoted that he said that Qiaoxing would “follow the brand of the Federation of Chinese Over-Return, will promote China’s excellent culture, to say well the Chinese stories” and “to make the future of China-Philippine.”

Groups offered men opportunities to rub the shoulders with prominent Philippine officials.

An article in July 2022 published on the social account of Shandong Acfroc included a photo with Wang handing a check of 500,000 Filipino pesos (about $ 8,600) and labeled as a “municipal mitigation” for Mayor Tarlac.

In the following months, the men continued with the same play journal.

In September, Wang, Wu and Cai donated 10 Sinski motorcycles made in China, worth about $ 2,500, to the Manila City police. A video broadcast by the local media showed vehicles adorned with red ribbons, while a Wang smile was standing with the mayor of the capital, Honey Lacuna and fist a police chief.

The Lacuna Office told Reuters that it was the only time the mayor met with any of the group members.

In the same month, Qiaoxing offered 10 patrol vehicles to the Tarlac police and the city government, according to the social account of Shandong ACFroc.

The two Chinese groups have also published periodic interactions with the Chinese military attachment in Manila. The photos on their website, for example, show four of the men who dine and drink with col. Li and Manuel Mamba, a Pro-Beijing Provincial Governor, at an awards ceremony in June 2024.

Mamba told Reuters that men took a picture with him, but there was no “no conversation from what I remember.”

Similarly, in May 2024, Li was seen in photos and videos posted on the Qiaoxing website during a party at a luxury Manila restaurant to mark the group’s anniversary. Nearby, Deputy Mayor Manila, John Marvin “Yul Servo”, Cruz Nieto, cut a five -level cake. The deputy mayor told Reuters that he did not remember his interaction, but said he was meeting many Chinese organizations as part of his job.

While civilian diplomatic officials interact regularly with civil society, Gill said that it is unusual for a defense attachment to get involved in the way he did them.

One of the last accounts on the group’s website is a monthly New Year’s Event event, hosted by the Chinese Embassy, ​​where all five detained men posed on stage with the ambassador and Li.

The following week, the five were arrested after traveling to the Oyster Bay Naval Detachment, near the South China Sea, where the authorities said they “run air supervision” while “posing as buyers of marine products around the city.”

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