The Armed Forces of the Philippines considers the reported recruitment of soldiers and persons with military backgrounds allegedly by Chinese firms a national concern and said the AFP is taking it seriously.

In a public briefing on Wednesday, AFP spokesperson, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, said the social media page reportedly used to recruit people with military links has been taken down.

“We have been checking the veracity of reports whether we have active personnel and even retired personnel who have applied to this

social media page. This site has already been taken down as of this moment, it’s now gone,” she said.

She did not elaborate on how the page was taken down.

However, Padilla noted that the AFP had secured screenshots of the page urging active and retired military personnel to apply as part-time analysts.

“At this time, we are investigating whether we have personnel involved in the applications,” she said.

Padilla stressed that anything illegally conducted through cyberspace is “considered a cybercrime.”

“We have been checking, in coordination with other agencies, the source of this account and if should there be any violation through this means, especially the disclosure or leaking of any military information by uniformed personnel,” she said.

“We are considering this a national security concern,” she added.

Citing the initial AFP investigation, Padilla said no active military personnel were involved in the recruitment, but clarified that the AFP could not check the “private messages” of the prospective applicants.

“We still haven’t verified if those who introduced themselves as military were members of the armed forces,” she noted.

“Of course, the armed forces is taking this thing seriously, so we are checking this,” she added.

Padilla said the culprits may want to access and acquire internal AFP data.

“Any attack in the cyber domain can be, of course, monetary or data-driven so they want to get internal data from the armed forces,” she said.

She said AFP personnel have been briefed about such suspicious social media engagements.

“We always remain professional so we are telling our troops they need to be vigilant and careful, we remind them always to be wary of these things,” she added.

‘Sleeper cells belied

The Chinese Embassy, however, refuted allegations of sleeper cells waiting to infiltrate and carry out sabotage operations in the country.

In a statement, Counselor Ji Lingpeng, the embassy’s spokesperson, also denied claims that China is actively recruiting Filipinos with military backgrounds.

“Those are merely malicious speculation and groundless accusations against China to incite Sinophobic sentiments in the Philippines. We firmly oppose this,” Li said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed his marching orders to probe reports that China has recruited Filipinos with military backgrounds to spy for it in the West Philippine Sea.

To Li, the bilateral relations of China and the Philippines has always been the “mainstream of our bilateral relations and the aspiration of the two peoples.”

“However, there seems to be an ‘invisible hand’ disseminating disinformation about China, hyping up maritime disputes between the two countries, amplifying our maritime differences, creating tension, and even fearmongering about war,” he said.

“It aims at nothing but poisoning the atmosphere of China-Philippines relations and disrupting their development. We believe that the Filipino people have discerning eyes and can see through these shenanigans, and shall not be deceived by false narratives,” he added.

Without directly naming countries, Li said that based on history, China “never invaded the Philippines” over its thousands of years of relations with the country.

“It was not China but other countries that were the successive invaders and colonizers of the Philippines. China always adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries,” he said.

Fabrication from meddlers

He stressed that the alleged “sleeper cells” of China in the Philippines are “nothing but a fabrication.”

“Instead, we see habitual meddling in other nations’ internal affairs, fostering domestic division and confrontation, and instigating ‘color revolutions’ by some countries,” he said.

“We urge relevant parties in the Philippines to keep up with the trend of the times and listen to the people of both countries, stop spinning false narratives and arousing anti-China sentiments,” he added.

Last November, the embassy refuted similar claims after the National Bureau of Investigation arrested two Chinese nationals for illegal possession of high-powered firearms in Pasig City.

The embassy said the arrest of the two Chinese nationals was an “isolated case,” which they believed was being “exploited by certain individuals for ulterior motives.”

It noted that the case “blew things out of proportion by making groundless accusations against China and the Chinese people.”

Return to right track

The embassy expressed hope that its counterparts in the Philippines would “take into account the broader context of China-Philippines relations and regional peace and stability.”

Likewise, it noted that the Philippines “will return to the right track of dialogue and consultation at the earliest opportunity, meet China halfway, manage differences through concrete actions, and promote the stable development of bilateral relations.”