Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) - Maritime transparency initiative group Sealight Foundation is investigating the extent of Chinese influence operations in the Philippines.In a forum on Saturday, global security expert Ray Powell of Sealight said Chinese aggression has not been limited in Philippine waters.&quot;Beijing&#x27;s goal is not to merely to control the reefs and shoals of the West Philippine Sea, it is to convince the people of the Philippines to stop resisting, to accept Chinese control as a permanent fact of life,&quot; Powell said. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/4/ph-has-uncovered-and-stopped-malign-activities-linked-to-china-nsc-2030">PH has uncovered and stopped &#x27;malign activities&#x27; linked to China — NSC </a></div>Powell said the political warfare of China in Manila has been equally aggressive to match their aggression in the West Philippine Sea. &quot;Sealight has been investigating machinery that lies deep behind that campaign, the network of interlocking organizations all connected to the Chinese communist party, all operating here in the Philippines,&quot; he added. &quot;The connections are not secret, but they are written in a language most Filipinos don&#x27;t speak.&quot; Powell said Beijing&#x27;s messaging has been embedded in many forms such as Chinese state media and their embassy&#x27;s press releases, which is often echoed in Filipino-Chinese language media. He said they documented and investigated how Ambassador Jing Quan summoned executives of Manila outlets &quot;telling them to cooperate closely with the embassy, and carry forward patriotism and love for the homeland.&quot; &quot;He was not talking about the Philippines.&quot; Powell also noted how the Chinese embassy in the Philippines attacked the investigations done by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and journalist Regine Cabato. Aside from the media, Powell said Chinese language education has been a target of the CCP. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/20/filipino-civilian-details-covert-communications-in-alleged-china-linked-spying-1200">Filipino civilian details covert communications in alleged China-linked spying</a></div>&quot;Since 1991, the Philippine Chinese Education Research Center had what Beijing called the blood transfusion plan, dispatching 5000 mainland teachers to Philippines Chinese language schools,&quot; he said. Powell clarified that their investigation is not about stigmatizing the Chinese Filipino community. &quot;Our investigations don&#x27;t seem to target them, they target the hostile foreign state that seeks to take over those institutions and exploit them.&quot;The Chinese embassy in the Philippines has yet to respond to Powell&#x27;s allegations, as of posting.

China's goal is "to convince the people of the Philippines to stop resisting, to accept Chinese control as a permanent fact of life," Powell said.

China's goal is "to convince the people of the Philippines to stop resisting, to accept Chinese control as a permanent fact of life," Powell said.

China running massive influence operations in PH, security expert says

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China running massive influence operations in PH, security expert says

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 21, 2026 05:07 PM PHT

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Updated March 21, 2026 11:53 PM PHT

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Sealight Foundation

Ray Powell

Beijing

Manila

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