China hopes the Philippines will refrain from perpetuating claims of having captured a Chinese spy, and instead stick to the truth of the matter and respect the foreign national’s “lawful rights.”
During a Wednesday press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning addressed the news of the alleged Chinese spy who will be facing an “airtight” case.
“The Chinese government, as always, asks Chinese nationals overseas to abide by local laws and regulations,” she said. “We hope the Philippines will stick to the fact, stop shadow-chasing, stop peddling the so-called ‘Chinese spy.’”
Ning added that China also expects the Philippines to “earnestly protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals in the Philippines.”
On Monday, the Chinese national and his two Filipino associates were presented before the public during a joint press conference held by the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Jeremy Lotoc revealed the alleged spy had graduated from a university “controlled and operated by the People's Liberation Army,” or the Chinese military.
Authorities seized suspected spy equipment from the suspects’ vehicle, which are “capable of producing coordinates … (and so) can be used for drone control to identify our topography and terrain,” Lotoc explained.
Moreover, according to NBI Director Jaime Santiago, Deng’s equipment had an application enabling access to devices via the internet, which could allow for the remote extraction of data. Santiago further disclosed that the data would be instantaneously relayed to China using a “real-time kinematic and global navigation satellite system.”
The suspected spy had been conducting surveillance activities at crucial civilian and military sites such as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
