THE alleged Chinese spy arrested by authorities last week in Makati City is married to a Filipina and has been moving in and out of the country since 2015, the Bureau of Immigration said yesterday.
“He is 39 years old and has travelled in and out of the Philippines since 2015 and is reportedly married to a Filipina,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.
He was referring to Yuanqing Deng who was arrested with two alleged cohorts – Filipinos Jayson Amado Fernandez and Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa.
Viado said the immigration bureau has shared the information and other details gathered from its own probe with the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which led operations leading to the arrest of three suspects.
He said the BI will also be initiating deportation proceedings against the Chinese to add to the other cases that will be filed against him locally.
Viado clarified they will not implement deportation proceedings until all local accountabilities and penalties have been resolved and served.
“We will ensure that we will identify any foreign cohorts that might be in the country assisting him … They will face serious punishment for their crimes,” he also said.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago and AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Monday said the three suspects have visited military camps, among others.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla yesterday said the military has intensified its intelligence operations following the arrest of Deng’s group last Friday.
She said the operation of the suspects was “not an isolated case” but a “part of a larger strategy to challenge our sovereignty and security.”
Authorities earlier said the suspects conducted unauthorized intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities on military camps, including Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
EDCA sites are located inside Philippine military installations. The US armed forces is allowed to establish facilities inside these EDCA sites for prepositioning of assets for territorial defense and disaster response operations, among others.
Padilla said the Armed Forces is working closely with the NBI.
Padilla said the military is also enhancing its cyber operations to ensure the security of sensitive military information and data “as we continue with our mandate of protecting the people and securing the state.”
Last year, authorities also arrested an alleged Chinese spy in Makati City. He was caught in possession of hacking devices and a loose firearm.
The Philippines, China, and several other countries are locked in a territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea in the South China. China has become aggressive in its claims over the past year.
Meanwhile, the Philippine and Chinese coast guards have replaced their ships operating near Zambales, said Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for the West Philippine Sea spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela on Tuesday night.
Tarriela said the PCG’s BRP Gabriela Silang was replaced by BRP Suluan which continues to monitor the Chinese “illegally operating” off Zambales at an average of 60 to 70 nautical miles.
Tarriela said Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3304 was also replaced by CCG vessel 3103.
He said CCG 3103 was some 76 nautical miles from Pundaquit, Zambales as of Tuesday night, continuing to conduct its “illegal patrol.”
Tarriela said CCG 3304 was some 105 nautical miles from Zambales or 28 nautical miles from the contested Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.
CCG 3304 vessel went near Zambales last Sunday, replacing the monster ship CCG 5901 which Tarriela said was already some 113 nautical miles from Zambales or 19 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal.
He said BRP Suluan has “radio-challenged” the Chinese vessel, “asserting that its illegal presence violates the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.”
SURFACE ACTION GROUPS
Navy spokesman Capt. John Percie Alcos said the Navy is intending to regularly deploy “surface action groups” (SAGs) to cover a wider area. A SAG is composed of two or more vessels, he said.
“With naval assets coming in (through the AFP modernization program), we can deploy our offshore combat assets, warships as surface action groups. That’s the direction that we’re going to,” he said.
Several ships are in the pipeline for acquisition under the AFP modernization program, including frigates and corvettes.
“Once we have enough assets to deploy, we’re going to do it regularly. As of now, if there is a particular mission essential task that requires the deployment of a surface action group, we can deploy a SAG,” said Alcos. – With Victor Reyes
