THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday that China’s use of foreign malign influence (FMI) on the issue of the West Philippine Sea has shifted to local elements, making it more challenging to monitor.
AFP spokesman RAdm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said there has been a noted spike in FMIs in the past four to six months.
”It is for this reason that we would like to warn the public: before liking, before forwarding, before clicking posts, double-check whether what you are reading is true,” Trinidad told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
The Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, he added, has been actively posting the rhetoric of the Chinese government and its stand on various issues like the West Philippine Sea in a very hostile tone.
The AFP said that since the first quarter of 2026, there has been a noticeable proliferation of FMIs connecting the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea with local issues such as the impeachment trial, flood control scam and law enforcement developments like the Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corp. raid. The “demonization” of Philippine authorities, especially Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea RAdm. Jay Tarriala, was also evident, it added.
Trinidad noted a shift in the use of the vernacular in online word wars, noting recent postings targeting Teodoro and Tarriala were posted in Filipino.
”When it’s the deputy spokesman of the Chinese Embassy, it’s street-level Tagalog. When it’s the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy, the tone is diplomatic. So even on their side, there is already a delineation of tasks. It’s again for this reason that we have to warn the public to be very, very careful in accepting what you see online,” Trinidad said.
