Filipino Officials Warn of Disinformation Campaigns Targeting Military and West Philippine Sea Policy

Philippine defense officials have sounded the alarm over coordinated disinformation campaigns targeting military unity and public opinion regarding territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Senior officers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Navy, and National Maritime Council warned that both domestic and foreign actors are deploying false narratives to undermine national cohesion during a period of heightened regional tensions.

“Recently, there was an attempt to agitate some of our military uniformed personnel retirees, organize them, and eventually mobilize them,” said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS, during an October 21 press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.

Trinidad did not specify individuals or groups behind these efforts but confirmed that online messages circulating in recent weeks appeared designed to create division between active and retired military personnel. He compared these tactics to those employed by China to promote its contested claims in the WPS.

“We call on our military retirees to help protect their ranks from certain individuals who deliberately distort the truth for their own ulterior motives,” Trinidad urged.

The remarks come amid online controversy regarding alleged removal of AFP pension benefits and supposed “ghost” flood control projects that prompted some retired officers to call for “withdrawal of support” from the government. In response, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established an independent fact-finding body through Executive Order No. 94 to investigate these allegations.

At the Blue Economy Annual Trade & Conference held earlier in October, maritime security experts elaborated on how disinformation poses a growing national security threat. The panel included Trinidad, Rear Admiral Rommel Ong (retired), Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard, and Undersecretary Alexander Lopez of the National Maritime Council.

Discussing why the Philippines faces greater pressure from China compared to other Southeast Asian nations with similar territorial claims, Ong explained: “We are an ally of the U.S. — that’s a double reason for them to go hard on us. It’s the unique circumstance of the Philippines — our diplomatic positioning and our alliances make it imperative for them to actually push us hard.”

Ong noted that Vietnam, another claimant nation, maintains party-to-party relations with China that provide unique negotiation channels unavailable to the Philippines. Tarriela added that while Malaysia and Brunei also experience Chinese harassment, they typically avoid publicizing such incidents, unlike the Marcos administration’s transparency policy.

The National Maritime Council reported that between January and March 2025 alone, at least 180 disinformation cases linked to China-based sources were documented. These campaigns often include fabricated territorial claims suggesting that Philippine islands like Palawan or Batanes belong to China.

“Those are all lies,” Lopez said. “The Chinese have dominated the information space through their state influence and media. Everything they release carries their narrative,” consistently portraying the Philippines as the aggressor when “the opposite is true.”

Trinidad emphasized that online disinformation targets both foreign policy and domestic politics. “We have to be careful because there are spoilers who want to use social media to agitate people into calling for a change in government,” he warned. “The question is, who stands to benefit if that happens?”

The government’s transparency initiative, implemented by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, has become a primary defense against misinformation. This program publishes verified reports and documentation of incidents between Philippine and Chinese vessels in contested waters, including laser pointing, water cannon attacks, and dangerous maneuvers during resupply missions.

“We believe that the only way people can unite and awaken their sense of patriotism about the West Philippine Sea is through proper information,” Tarriela explained. “Nobody can support something they do not know.”

The Philippines continues to assert the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award that invalidated China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim and reaffirmed Manila’s maritime entitlements. Since 2022, the Philippine government has filed 245 diplomatic protests against China over incursions, with 47 filed in 2025 alone.

All officials urged public vigilance against false information. “Please support the Philippine government in fighting disinformation and fake news about the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said. “This is the biggest contribution you can give in our fight for the West Philippine Sea.”