NBI arrests Chinese spy, two Filipino cohorts for espionage in military facilities

A Chinese national and two Filipinos were arrested after being found conducting espionage at various military facilities in the Philippines, authorities said Friday.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said that last December, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shared a naval intelligence report detailing the infiltration of a Chinese group into the country to spy on sensitive military sites. The information was immediately reported to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Remulla called for an executive session with Armed Forces Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. to discuss efforts to track down the group.

A cybercrime team, with assistance from a special task force, located the suspects. The main individual was identified as a Chinese technical software engineer linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the University of Science and Technology, which is controlled and operated by the PLA, with an address in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

The three suspects—Yuanqing Deng, a Chinese national, and Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jayson Amdado Fernandez, both Filipino nationals—were arrested at a condominium in Makati at 7 p.m. last Friday.