Philippines to probe influx of Chinese students in province close to Taiwan, military concerned over 'legality' of stay

The Philippine officials are set to investigate the influx of Chinese students in the Cagayan province, a coastal region of the country that faces Taiwan.

The Philippine military is concerned over the security aspects of the rising presence of Chinese nationals in Cagayan. The province houses two military bases that are used by the United States as part of bilateral treaty. The two countries have a mutual defence treaty that states that an armed attack in the Pacific Area on either country would be met with a joint effort.

A security expert has, however, dismissed such concerns and said that the influx of Chinese nationals reflects the corruption among the country’s politicians instead of any security concerns.

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The report of the investigation into the rising numbers of Chinese nationals comes at a time when both the Philippines and Taiwan are increasingly facing Chinese military aggression.

‘We take such reports seriously’: Military on Chinese influx

The Philippine military has said that it takes the reports of the influx of Chinese nationals seriously and is coordinating with the police in an investigation.

The South China Morning Post reported that around 4,600 Chinese nationals have been recorded to be living in the Cagayan province and enrolled in private universities in the city of Tuguegarao.

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Philippine military spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that the military took the reports “seriously”.

“The AFP takes [reports] seriously, so we are looking into this…We’ll be working with them [police] closely on this matter so investigation will be on their end and if there will be AFP requirements from their end, then we will be extending our assistance accordingly,” said Padilla, according to Manila Bulletin.

The AFP refers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In a separate interview cited by GMA Network, Padilla said, “We want to know how they [Chinese nationals] got to the Philippines in the first place, the legality of their entry into our country, and if they have the necessary documents such as a student visa.”

Congressman describes Chinese influx as ‘creeping invasion’

Filipino congressman Robert Ace Barbers has termed the situation as a “creeping invasion”. Ringing alarms on the Chinese presence, he said foreigners had even obtained birth certificates, drivers’ licences, unified multipurpose identification cards, and passports of the Philippines, as per the SCMP report.

“How can they, in large numbers, not arouse suspicion to any agency unless the people responsible have been blinded by money or are grossly incompetent and ignorant?” Barbers said, as per the report.

Barbers also cited an earlier case of Chinese nationals who had joined Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary members. In the case that emerged last month, a senior coastguard official revealed their unit had 36 Chinese nationals for two years before they were delisted, as per the report.

In the country’s capital Manila, a military general told This Week in Asia on condition of anonymity that their headquarters of Camp Aquinaldo was already surrounded by Chinese living in condominiums.

Separately, in a resolution filed on March 20, representatives Joseph Lara and Faustino Dy V from Cagayan noted “an alarming increase in the number of Chinese citizens coming into the province of Cagayan as students enrolled in universities” and said the influx posed a risk to national security and economy, particularly since they were involved in “spurious schemes”, as per the report.

Defence expert dismisses security concerns

While the influx of Chinese nationals in Cagayan was indeed notable considering the province’s geopolitical significance considering tis proximity to Taiwan, these nationals are of little importance to fulfil China’s military objectives, said defence analyst Chester Cabalza.

“If the purpose is intelligence gathering, then instead of those foreign nationals, an easier source of intelligence data for Beijing would be corrupt Filipino officials and politicians. The presence of those foreign nationals is more of a symptom of Philippine corruption, which is something that must be dealt with for the Filipinos to more effectively face the existential threat from China,” said Cabalza, Founding President of International Development and Security Cooperation, as per the report.