Spies and foreign agents

The clashes and dangerous incidents between the Philippine Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea, especially in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal and more recently at Sabina Shoal, only highlight the scope and imminence of the Chinese threat to our sovereign rights and entitlements in the WPS.

However, such threat is not limited to the provocative, dangerous, and illegal actions conducted by the China Coast Guard and maritime militia in the WPS. The Chinese threat also exists in the cyber realm and through China’s efforts in cognitive warfare and influence operations. Taking that into account leads one to conclude that the threat posed by China to our national security lies not only in the waters of our exclusive economic zone in the WPS, but also within our homeland.

No surprise then that issues concerning the presence of Chinese workers in Philippine offshore gaming operators and the thousands of students in a province in northern Luzon have raised concerns about Chinese spies and sleeper cells. Aside from spies and sleeper cells, another concern is that of foreign agents being used by China to further the objectives of their foreign influence operations in the Philippines.

A Jamestown Foundation report on Chinese influence operations in the Philippines states that the aim is to sow discord in the country’s domestic politics to encourage the population to focus on internal conflicts and tensions rather than on outside threats. These operations also want to weaken the United States-Philippine defense alliance and promote a pro-People’s Republic of China government in Manila, and thus shape public opinion in the Philippines into supporting Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea (SCS).

Fortunately, there appears to be a general awareness of these threats and the issues behind them, given the widespread public debates and discussions in various platforms and media. However, we must be mindful throughout this process of avoiding sweeping accusations. The efforts to root out the spies and foreign agents acting against the country’s security and interests must be precise and based on solid legal grounds. The actions we take in the waters of the WPS are a clear example of that, as it has a strong legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 SCS arbitral ruling.

In dealing with spies and foreign agents, actions and efforts in that area should likewise be guided and governed by existing laws, namely, Commonwealth Act No. 616, concerning espionage and spies, and Batas Pambansa (BP) No. 39 in the case of foreign agents. In the case of Commonwealth Act No. 616, Senate Bill No. 2368 has been introduced to amend and update its provisions to make them more responsive to present circumstances.

Meanwhile, the purpose of BP 39 is “to regulate the activities of foreign agents and to require them to register and to disclose their political activities in the Republic of the Philippines.” This means there is nothing wrong with being a registered foreign agent unless he or she violates Section 11 of BP 39, which defines what constitute unlawful acts on their part.

It’s worth mentioning as well that there is a distinct difference between a spy and a foreign agent. This distinction is important because while a spy can be a foreign agent duly registered under our country’s law, not all foreign agents are spies.

The threats and risks posed by spies and foreign agents are quite real, however, and cannot be discounted. In fact, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro recently called on Congress to amend the espionage act to make it effective even in times of peace and not just during war.

But we must also act responsibly in dealing with spies and foreign agents. Rooting them out should be in accordance with the law, since making sweeping accusations without legal basis is more likely to undermine our position and sway public opinion on our policies.

Just as we base our claims of sovereignty in the WPS under the rule of law as embodied by Unclos and the 2016 arbitral ruling, our efforts to protect the country from enemies within should likewise be based on solid legal foundations, such as Commonwealth Act No. 616 and BP 39.

Moira G. Gallaga served three Philippine presidents as presidential protocol officer and was posted as a diplomat at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington.