The arrest over the weekend of a Chinese “sleeper agent” has triggered suspicions from the Philippine military that there could be a “deliberate and calculated move to map out” the country by a “foreign power.”

Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad made the comment during a press conference on Tuesday that tackled the arrest by the National Bureau of Investigation of an alleged foreign spy using state-of-the-art computer technology.

Trinidad has also recalled other incidents of suspected espionage involving foreign nationals last year.

“So if we look at the entire expanse of the country covering the different incidents and national power and start connecting the dots, there seems now to be a deliberate and calculated move to map out the country by a foreign power,” said Trinidad.

He assured the media that the military is continuing to monitor the situation, adding that they are “taking appropriate action.”

Among the incidents Trinidad cited are the discovery of the submersible drone with Chinese markings in Masbate. The equipment was the fifth such drone already in the custody of the military.

“If we take two steps backward, a local chief executive with dubious character and background was uncovered, foreign nationals were arrested with fake government IDs, foreign nationals with fake birth certificates,” he said.

While Trinidad did not mention names, news information reported in the past identified Chinese individuals to be linked in the said incidents.

It will be recalled that the most controversial issue among these was the arrest of former Bamban (Tarlac) Mayor Alice Guo, who was later exposed to be a Chinese national whose name is Guo Hua Ping.

ON the other hand, the Chinese national arrested on Monday (January 20) was reported monitoring activities of military facilities in the country.

Arrested with the suspect who was identified as Deng Yuanqing were two Filipinos who assisted him in his alleged spying activities.