The Chinese government has expressed its hope that the Philippines will protect the "just rights and interests" of Chinese nationals in the country following the arrest of a suspected "sleeper agent" involved in espionage activities.
The spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, made the statement when asked about the case.
"The Chinese government, as always, requests Chinese nationals abroad to abide by local laws and regulations," Mao said at a press conference on Wednesday evening.
"We want the Philippines to stick to the truth, stop 'shadow-chasing,' and stop spreading the so-called 'Chinese spy,' and seriously protect the just rights and interests of Chinese nationals in the Philippines," he added.
On January 20, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago announced that the arrested Chinese national is Deng Yuanqing, a technical software engineer connected to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Santiago said Deng studied at the PLA-controlled University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, specializing in control engineering and automation systems. Deng was arrested in Makati on Friday along with his fellow Filipinos Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jason Amado Fernandez.
Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad that there appears to be a "deliberate and calculated move to map" the Philippines by a "foreign power."
Aside from the case of the alleged Chinese "sleeper agent," Trinidad also mentioned other incidents involving foreigners such as the submersible drone with Chinese markings found in Masbate. This is the fifth underwater drone in the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
"If we look, there are local officials with questionable character and background, as well as foreigners caught with fake government IDs, and foreigners with fake birth certificates," Trinidad added.
