Dispute China considers nearly the entire South China Sea as its territory, including the West Philippine Sea which overlaps with it. The Philippines says otherwise backed by a 2016 arbitral ruling.
Jam Sta Rosa/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
China is meddling in the upcoming May elections by supporting pro-Beijing candidates, the National Security Council (NSC) disclosed Thursday.
NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said there are indications of Chinese interference in the elections when he was asked about it by Senator Francis Tolentino.
Malaya dropped the bombshell at the resumption of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones investigation into the submersible drones found in Philippine waters.
“I have been meaning to ask this question. Are there indicators suggesting foreign interference in the 2025 elections particularly targeting candidates with strong pro-sovereignty and anti-China positions?” Tolentino asked.
In response, Malaya said the NSC has observed interference by a foreign state in the upcoming elections, particularly from China.
“There are indications that information operations are being conducted, and that Chinese state-sponsored groups in the Philippines are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
Tolentino followed up with a question on whether China’s operations in the country involve boosting candidates supporting pro-China narratives.
Malaya answered in the affirmative, adding that there are local individuals working for China who are amplifying its self-serving narratives and causing further division in the Philippines.
“What we have observed is that there are many narratives, for example, from Beijing that are being amplified by third-party individuals who are their proxies,” he said.
He described the pattern used by these individuals whenever China issues a statement, referring to Chinese troll farms.
“When there are statements from Beijing, they are amplified by their local proxies in the Philippines. The scripts coming from Beijing are the same scripts they use,” he said.
Tolentino asked if the NSC has been able to identify the individuals serving as local proxies for China, which Malaya also answered in the affirmative.
Prior to this, National Intelligence Coordination Agency (NICA) Deputy Director General Ace Acedillio revealed that China is using “organs” to amplify “divisive political discourse in our country.”
Acedillio said Chinese entities are also involved in cyber threats and espionage activities in the Philippines, which extend from the government to the private sector.
He said the particular government agencies being targeted are executive branch departments handling diplomatic, defense and maritime affairs.
“(Also) agencies involved in South China Sea formulation, military and law enforcement communication networks, and local government units in strategically significant locations,” he said.
In the private sector, Acedillio said critical infrastructure operations, particularly in energy, telecommunications and transportation, are targeted by Chinese entities.
Defense contractors and suppliers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, research institutions working on maritime resources and territorial issues, and financial institutions with ties to government projects are also targets.
He said senior government officials with access to classified information, military officers in command positions, diplomats engaged in territorial negotiations, as well as researchers and academics specializing in geopolitical and security issues, are also targeted.
Acedillio cited China’s 2015 White Paper and 2017 National Intelligence Law as two major strategic developments undergirding China’s espionage, surveillance, and related activities in the Philippines.
Under China’s National Intelligence Law, Chinese citizens and organizations are required to assist in their government’s intelligence operations.
Citing 7 April data from Google Threat Intelligence, Acedillio said the government and manufacturing sectors are the two most cyber-attacked sectors in the country by Chinese entities, followed by financial services, energy and utilities, and the technology sector.
From April 2024 to January 2025, the NICA recorded at least 79 incidents of cyber operations against Philippine government agencies, namely, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Justice, and Department of Public Works and Highways, among others.
Similar concerns have been raised globally. Russia, for example, has been accused of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election, allegedly using social media manipulation, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks to influence the outcome.
Investigations by US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia sought to undermine public trust in democratic processes and favor certain candidates, particularly Donald Trump. These efforts have since shaped how democracies prepare for and guard against foreign interference in elections.
The Philippines and China remain locked in a protracted territorial dispute over areas in the South China Sea, particularly the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines asserts its sovereign right over its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which includes features like the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
Despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague favoring the Philippines, China has continued to assert its expansive “ten-dash line” claim, building artificial islands and militarizing disputed features.
These actions have provoked diplomatic protests and increased tensions in the region, complicating maritime security, access to resources, and regional cooperation.
In an interview, Malaya said the NSC has tapped the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the use by China of troll farms.
Citing details and evidence provided by the senator, Malaya said that groups of social media warriors, commonly known as troll farms, were contracted to operate online.
He said the government is “very alarmed” and plans to investigate the agreement between Infinitus Marketing Solutions and the Chinese government.
“We do not have presumption as to their guilt, but we will go where the evidence leads us, and the evidence is strong,” Malaya said.
“There is a clear intention to interfere in Philippine politics. So we will work closely with the NBI on a case buildup because they have Filipino cohorts,” Malaya said.
“So those Philippine nationals should be made to account if they are guilty based on the investigation,” he added.
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