Influence ops target journalists, expert as China vessels patrol West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino reporters and a known maritime expert received a barrage of messages from unidentifiable sources in 2023 that attempted to divert public attention away from Chinese vessels’ actions in the West Philippine Sea to Vietnam’s supposed “militarization” there. 

Around seven messages were sent to four Filipino journalists covering different beats and Jay Batongbacal, the director of the University of the Philippines - Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, all encouraging them to report or comment on Vietnam’s alleged plans to build defense infrastructure on Spratlys Island based on supposed leaked documents.

These emails and text messages — most of which were sent within days and weeks of each other from July to August — have some of the markings of an influence operation that Philstar.com is tracking across all social media platforms, groups and spaces on the internet. 

According to screengrabs of the messages that Batongbacal and the four reporters, including two foreign correspondents, shared with Philstar.com, all the senders’ names cannot be verified online and there are no traces of the affiliations some of them claim to have. 

These messages offered to provide the reporters and Batongbacal with insider information on Vietnam’s construction plans on Spratlys Island. The individuals behind these messages identified themselves as either concerned Filipinos, employees of the Vietnamese construction company involved in the alleged militarization, or experts willing to help write an article against Vietnam.

Some senders were also persistent in following up with the reporters, aiming to incite anger or fear about a perceived Vietnamese threat to Philippine sovereignty while downplaying China’s actions in the region.

In July and August 2023, two accounts emailed two Filipino journalists about the supposed defense infrastructure that Vietnam plans to put up on Spratlys Island. Both individuals emphasized Vietnam’s supposed threat to Philippine sovereignty and promised to provide more information upon further contact.

Based on Philstar.com’s research, a certain “Domingo Cortes” sent at least two identical emails from the last