What we know so far about China’s alleged spying on PCG, Navy in Palawan

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For nearly two years, Chinese nationals were conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in key waterways and locations in Palawan, an island facing the West Philippine Sea. 

Five of those Chinese nationals were presented to the media on Thursday, January 30, after they were arrested for covertly collecting information on Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Navy ships in Palawan and Manila, as well as actively monitoring ports and waterways that Philippine vessels pass through on their way to West Philippine Sea missions. 

Their work, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner, meant that they were able to monitor when and which Philippine ships were being deployed from Manila or Palawan for crucial and sensitive missions to the West Philippine Sea. 

Information collated by the five were being transmitted real-time, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner confirmed. 

The five will be charged for violating sections of an anti-espionage law that dates back to the Commonwealth era. In particular, the five will be charged for: “unlawfully obtaining or permitting to be obtained information affecting national defense” and “unlawful disclosing information affecting national defense.” 

The group also has ties to another Chinese national who was earlier arrested for alleged espionage operations in Luzon. The NBI, however, refused to divulge exactly how they reached that conclusion but said that all six Chinese nationals would meet regularly. 

So far, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is sure that the information was transmitted out of the country real-time, but refused to disclose where or to whom the information went exactly. 

Officials also declined to conclude if the alleged acts of espionage were sponsored by the People’s Republic of China or by any other foreign entity. 

Here’s what we know so far, based on a press conference held by the NBI, AFP, and other law enforcement agencies: 

Who were arrested? 

The five, arrested between January 24 and 25, 2025 are: 

• Cai Shaohuang (Richard Tan Chua) 
• Cheng Hai Tao (Lestrade) 
• Wu Cheng Ting (Brawn) 
• Wang Yong Yi (Watson) 
• Wu Chin Ren 

All five had been either living or frequenting the Philippines for several years. Cai Shaohuang, identified by the NBI as the “field commander” of the group, was married to a Filipino and was living in Dumaguete where he resides. 

NBI Director Jaime Santiago and AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner, present five alleged Chinese spies, during a media briefing at the NBI headquarters on January 30, 2025. The suspects (L-R) Wu Cheng Ting, Hai Tao Chen, Wu Chin Ren, Wang Yong Yi, and Cai Shaohuang.

Two were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila right after they arrived from yet another alleged surveillance mission to Palawan, and two were arrested in Manila — one in Intramuros, and another in Binondo. 

The two from Palawan were believed to be on the way to “link up” with the two in Manila to exchange information. 

Immigration Bureau spokesperson Dana Sandoval noted that the five had “embedded themselves” in Philippine society. They had the proper visas and would go to and from the country “with a perfect record.” 

They were also members of the Qiaoxing Volunteer Group of the Philippines and the Philippine China Association of Promotion of Peace and Friendship, Inc. 

Wang Yong Yi, one of the five arrested, is listed as the “founding chairman” of the organizations, according to an April 2024 Manila Standard report.

A 2022 news report from the trilingual Chinese-English-Filipino news program CNTV features Wang speaking during a ceremony to turn over patrol police motorcycles to the Manila Police District.

NBI Cybercrime Division chief Jeremy Lotoc said the group also had medical missions in Palawan, including ones with a politician whom he declined to identify because the investigation was ongoing.  

Their supposed cover for their frequent visits to Palawan? They were looking for a supply of lobsters. One of the suspects, as they were being led out after the operation, repeated the claim. 

What did they do in Manila and Palawan? 

Brawner said the AFP thinks their monitoring activities started in 2023, in Ulugan Bay of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. It was that year when the group allegedly tried to install a CCTV camera near Kahamut-An Beach Resort. 

Brawner, in the press conference, noted that the military had long wondered how China seemed to know about missions to resupply outposts in the West Philippine Sea just as soon as Philippine ships left their ports.  

Fast forward to 2024, and two were caught installing a solar-powered CCTV camera in Sun Seas Beach Resort in Buliluyan town in Palawan. The camera, which was also able to transmit information real-time, pointed towards the West Philippine Sea. 

From that location and through the camera, the group would be able to monitor the ships that the Philippines uses for troop rotation and resupply missions to outposts in the West Philippine Sea. Buliluyan town is the jump off point for most PCG vessels that either escort the Navy to Ayungin Shoal missions or conduct missions to their own posts.

SOLAR-POWERED CCTV CAMERA. NBI Director Jaime Santiago and AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner, present five alleged Chinese spies, during a media briefing at the NBI headquarters on January 30, 2025.

Intel and law enforcement operatives also found out that the group was supposedly conducting “imagery and intelligence operations” on Oyster Bay, the site of the Naval Forces West’s detachment. 

The group also allegedly used the same sort of CCTV camera in Manila, this time positioned to face Manila Bay, where PCG ships are also docked from time to time. By observing and recording the movement of PCG ships from Manila, Brawner noted, the Philippines’ deployment patterns would be easier to figure out. 

How were they caught? 

The NBI, initially, acted on an intel packet from their counterparts in the AFP. Lotoc said the NBI only started on the case in November 2024 but that their counterparts in the intelligence community’s work was “24/7.” 

Brawner also highlighted the role of Palawan locals who flagged the installation of the CCTV cameras, as well as the activities of the Chinese nationals. 

The AFP chief encouraged the public to report “suspicious activities” to Philippine authorities.

What we don’t know yet

Brawner was quick to say that they “cannot conclude that these activities are connected to the government of China,” when asked about the implications of apparent espionage acts by Chinese nationals. 

After all, in November 2024 — when the group was said to have installed a CCTV in Buliluyan town — it had been months since Manila and Beijing set in place a “provisional understanding” meant to build trust and avoid confrontations during missions to bring personnel and supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. 

“We are separating the agreement that was entered into by our government on certain operations in the WPS such as the RORE [rotation and resupply mission],” said Brawner. 

The NBI is also yet unsure — or at least refused to divulge — who was funding the five men’s operations. They also didn’t pinpoint exactly where the information was being transmitted to, although Lotoc indicated that an individual, not in the Philippines, was getting information from both the Palawan group led by Cai and Deng Yuanqing, the Chinese nabbed for alleged surveillance in Luzon island. – Rappler.com