Photo: National Bureau of Investigation
MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) arrested a Chinese national and two Filipino “cohorts” suspected to be conducting espionage within military camps and vital installations within the country.
“‘Yung nahuli po natin isang Chinese national na based on our open source intelligence with assistance from our Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is a graduate PLA University of Science and Technology which is controlled and operated by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” NBI Cybercrime Division chief Jeremy Lotoc said in a press conference Monday.
Lotoc said the Chinese national is an expert in control engineering. The two FIlipinos are local cohorts driving the vehicle caught containing a full scale technological infrastructure aimed at spying on Philippine political and military assets nationwide.
“With the directives of our subject, [the] foreign national, meron na ho silang mapa kung saan iikot, in fact ang plano ho nila pagkatapos ho nilang maikot ‘yung buong Luzon, and next target nila ‘yung buong Visayas, Mindanao po,” Lotoc said.
“Hindi na po namin hinintay na magproceed sila sa Visayas, kinuha na po nami,” Lotoc said.
Operation
In December 2024, the NBI-Special Task Force (STF) and NBI-Cybercrime Division (CCD) received an intelligence report from the AFP-Naval Operatives that a group of Chinese nationals, guising as developers of autonomous vehicles, is allegedly doing surveillance operations within the country. Obtained information is said to be sent to China in real time.
Upon validation, the NBI identified six individuals composed of a software engineer, two hardware engineers, a financier and two Filipino cohorts working as drivers.
From December 13, 2024 to January 16, 2025, a subject vehicle traversing the National Capital Region and general divisions in Luzon was seen doing detailed scouting, collating comprehensive images of terrains, structures and overall topography of the potential targets within the country.
On January 17 an operation was hatched to intercept the suspects.
NBI operatives spotted the subject vehicle within Makati City boarded by Deng Yuanqing who was then working the ICT equipment mounted at the rear compartment and the two Filipinos identified as Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jayson Amado Fernandez.
When questioned about his identity, permit and any authorization, Yuanqing attempted to hide the storage device and flee, prompting the NBI operatives to arrest him as well as the other two.
Search of the subject vehicle revealed a highly advanced full technological infrastructure that collected sensitive data and information comprising topographic footage, mapping the critical infrastructures of the Philippines, among others.
Photo: National Bureau of Investigation
Further inspection revealed active programs designed to allow users to access and control devices remotely over the internet.
AFP Chief Romeo Brawner Jr. believes the espionage operations of China in the Philippines had begun even before the apprehension of their equipment last year.
China’s use of state-of-the-art technology to conduct spying activities is combated by the Philippine government with the use of equally cutting edge technological machinery, said Brawner, the same they used for tracking ang cracking down POGOs.
Brawner added that security within military camps and peripheral vicinities are being beefed up to protect these institutions against similar threats.
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Republika News 
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