The latest in a line of prosecutions involving alleged spy comes as tensions between the two countries increase in the contested South China Sea, according to Philippine authorities, who said on Tuesday that they had detained two Foreign nationals for spying.
The men allegedly paid a trio of Filipino accomplices to drive them through the city of Manila while using an” IMS I catcher,” a flying imitation of a cell phone tower, to intercept messages in a 1- to 3-kilometer ( approximately 3, 200-9, 800 feet ) radius.
Cars carrying the tools were operating near vulnerable places including the national house, the US ambassador, Camp Aguinaldo, Camp Crame and Villamor Air Base, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.
NBI representative Ren Dela Cruz claimed that” thousands” of pieces of information had been gathered prior to the arrest of all five men on Thursday in a raid.
” These people were conducting secret and illegal intelligence gathering actions, posing a threat to national security”, colonel Xerxes Trinidad, Philippine defense commander of public affairs, told reporters.
A Filipino driver who was identified at Tuesday’s press briefing claimed to have worked with the men since October and has been receiving 3, 000 pesos ( roughly$ 52 ) per day for driving around the capital with” the box turned on.”
Officials did not specify the purpose of the online recorded details, as they did with the six arrests made next month.
Five reported Chinese spies were taken into custody, according to local safety representatives in late January. Two of the men were detained for reportedly recording actions at a naval base and other locations using a helicopter and a high-resolution solar-powered camera.
Additionally, earlier in January, police detained a Taiwanese software expert named Deng Yuanqing who was suspected of spying on military and police tents, allegations that China denied.
On Tuesday, the Taiwanese and US diplomats did not respond to requests for comment right away.
In recent months, tensions between the Philippines and China have gotten worse for the strategically proper South China Sea reefs and waters.
Beijing asserts that it has the majority of the corporate canal despite a global ruling that it has no legal basis for doing so.
Romeo Brawner, the standard of the Spanish government, stated last month that it was too soon to assume that the spying was government-sponsored, since Filipino authorities have not yet identified the intended recipient of the intelligence.
