The sudden deportation of 14 Taiwanese from Manila to mainland China after a month of bitter diplomatic wrangling has led to the worst row in years between the Philippines and Taiwan. The Taiwanese were among 24 suspected members of a Chinese syndicate operating partly out of Manila who were arrested after a covert operation by Philippine and mainland investigators.
The deportations on February 2 angered Taipei, which had claimed jurisdiction, and prompted claims of Manila bowing to pressure from Beijing.
It is the second time in recent months that Manila has been accused of caving in to Beijing, after the Philippines skipped the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway honouring dissident Liu Xiaobo .
The latest diplomatic spat started with a top-level request from the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing to help dismantle a criminal gang that had reportedly swindled up to 140 million yuan (HK$165.8 million) from mainland victims in just six months of operation last year.
The request was sent through the Chinese embassy to Magtanggol Gatdula, director of the National Bureau of Investigation under the Department of Justice, who briefed Cesar Bacani, chief of the bureau's Anti-Fraud and Action Division. 'We were given the names, addresses and information to be validated,' Bacani said. Bacani formed a team to conduct surveillance on eight locations, all in upmarket neighbourhoods.
Investigators from Beijing also arrived to brief Bacani and his men, informing them that the suspects were part of a large ring that was targeting mainland Chinese.