ALARMING IS AN understatement to describe recent developments surrounding national security amid an “escalated tension” over the West Philippine Sea.
No less than the Philippine Navy disclosed the presence of a Chinese aircraft carrier, six escort ships and a spy ship 5.6 kilometers from the country’s northernmost islands on April 22.
According to Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the supposed “passage” is the closest recorded approach of a Chinese entourage to the Philippine shores.
Spotted in a simultaneous activity at the Babuyan Islands were a Shandong-class aircraft carrier and six destroyer and frigate escort ships and two support vessels.
The Philippine Navy also tracked a separate Type 815 Chinese surveillance ship 33 nautical miles northwest of Dalupiri Island in Batanes province.
WHAT WENT BEFORE
At the onset of 2025, the Philippine authorities have been running after and arresting foreign spies — mostly Chinese nationals – in what the government claimed is an earnest effort to keep the country safe.
From January onwards, quite a number of Chinese nationals suspected of spying in the Philippines were arrested in separate operations in Makati, Palawan, and Zambales.
Also seized from the arrested foreign nationals were “military grade” gadgets which were allegedly used to collate sensitive data on the ground, including the Malacañang Palace, which is known for an extremely high level of security. The President and his family are living in Malacañang.
China has since shrugged off allegations of spying on the Philippines.
CHINA’S RETALIATION
Following the series of arrests of suspected Chinese spies, three Filipinos based in China were detained on suspicion of espionage.
A report from state-run Xinhua News Agency claimed that the Filipinos, who were “arrested for allegedly passing sensitive information to a Philippine contact,” have reportedly confessed.
In a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Guangzhou-based said that the Philippine government will provide assistance and other necessary support to the three arrested Filipinos.
DFA also called on China to handle the case with due process and full respect for the suspects’ rights under Chinese law and the Philippines-China Consular Agreement.
The maritime dispute resulted in a strained bilateral relationship as manifested in a long list of diplomatic protests arising from water cannon incidents, side-swiping, dangerous maneuvers, sea collisions and even extremely physical encounters.
MODERN ESPIONAGE
Espionage, however, isn’t limited to human sleepers as Philippine authorities previously recovered underwater spy drones off the coast of San Pascual, Masbate in December 2024, and another one in Sabtang, Batanes in February this year.
The drones, Trinidad claimed, have the capability to gather critical data about the Philippines’ undersea environment, adding that these underwater vehicles have the capability to gather critical data about the Philippines’ undersea environment.
“The yellow drone… is designed to collect what we call bathymetric data: depth of water, salinity, conductivity, [and] oxygen content,” said the Navy officer citing forensic findings.
“The black one has the same capability, but it also has an AVS: acoustic vector sensor. It picks up sound, how sound propagates or travels underwater,” he added.
He explained that “sound propagation is very critical when it comes to undersea warfare. But all the information obtained by these drones has different uses, potentially commercial, academic, scientific research, and military use.”
BREWING TENSION
The maritime dispute resulted in a strained bilateral relationship as manifested in a long list of diplomatic protests arising from water cannon incidents, side-swiping, dangerous maneuvers, sea collisions and even extremely physical encounters.
However, none of these incidents seemed enough for the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, which the United States committed to defend the Philippines in the event of foreign aggression. The pat however specifically provides the use of “firepower” for the treaty to take effect.
The US nonetheless has reiterated its stand over the maritime dispute. In an apparent proof of its commitment to the Philippines, the US government approved the $5.58 billion arms deal involving fighter jets and missile systems to strengthen defense cooperation between longtime allies.
The deal however doesn’t sit well with China. In an apparent display of disappointment, the Chinese Embassy in Manila issued a travel advisory warning Chinese citizens of increased security risks in the Philippines.
FORTIFYING DEFENSE
To bolster the country’s defense, the Philippine Navy cited the need to buy more “grey ships” while putting up an in-house shipbuilding for mid-sized vessels.
“I think that is the objective. This will be to support the Self-Reliance Defense Program of the Philippines, not only of the Department of National Defense but the whole country,” Commander John Pierce Alcos, Naval Public Affairs chief said.
“We have a naval shipbuilding facility in Cavite. This is part of the Fast Attack Interdiction Craft Acquisition Project where we’ve partnered with Israel. Hopefully, very, very soon we’ll have the capability to manufacture our own mid-sized Fast Attack Interdiction Craft,” Alcos said.
The FAIC are medium-sized vessels capable of speeds of around 40-50 knots and equipped with missile launching capabilities, he added. He also revealed ongoing efforts to develop machine guns for the vessel.
“We now have the capability to operate .50-caliber machine guns remotely. This was developed here in the Philippines. These are now being operated aboard several of our vessels already.”