Philippine visa scheme sparks fears of Chinese students acting as ‘agents of state’
- A report showing that 16,200 Chinese nationals who entered the Philippines as tourists and later received student visas in 2023 has alarmed analysts
- The findings have prompted calls for Philippine security and intelligence agencies to examine the background of these students
Analysts say the number of student visas granted to Chinese nationals is a source of concern as some of them could be acting as “agents of the state” against the interests of the Philippines.
Robert Ace Barbers, the representative of Surigao del Norte’s 2nd District, was alarmed by the report’s findings, given the simmering tensions in the South China Sea.
“Of course, we want tourists to come … we want them to invest here and we also want them to study here. But now that there seems to be a problem that we’re involved in as far as the West Philippine Sea is concerned. I think the number of Chinese students is quite alarming,” Barbers said in a television interview on Tuesday.
Barbers was referring to Manila’s term for the section of the South China Sea that defined its maritime territory and included its exclusive economic zone.
Tensions have spiked in the disputed waters in recent months with several clashes reported, including ship collisions and the use of water cannons by the Chinese coastguard against Philippine vessels.
Signed by former President Joseph Estrada in 2000, Executive Order No. 285 allows the Bureau of Immigration to grant the conversion of tourist visas into student visas subject to certain conditions. Manila’s policy then was to “promote the Philippines as a centre for education in the Asia-Pacific Region by encouraging foreign students to study in the country”.
But Barbers argued that such powers should be reserved only for the Department of Foreign Affairs, which could assess the eligibility of applicants under the scheme.
“This arbitrary power to convert visas is the worst legalised scheme that can be used by unscrupulous personnel for monetary gain,” Barbers said in a separate statement on Monday.
Norman Tansingco, Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, said in a statement on Monday that the bureau had previously provided data on students who were granted visas under the scheme to Philippine security agencies for investigations against suspicious activities of foreign nationals.
“We have requested the high-level meetings to reiterate our previous requests for immediate joint inspections given the new developments in national security concerns,” Tansingco said.
According to Tansingco, Chinese nationals remain the biggest source of foreign students in many countries. For instance, the US granted student visas to 289,526 Chinese nationals in 2022. Malaysia and Thailand welcomed about 130,000 and 20,000 Chinese students, respectively, in the same year.
Tansingco also addressed media reports of 4,600 Chinese nationals enrolled in private universities in the northern Cagayan province. Of the 1,516 Chinese nationals holding student visas, only 485 were enrolled since last month, he said.
Speaking with This Week in Asia, Ramon Beleno III, head of the political science and history department at Ateneo De Davao University in Davao City, said the report on Chinese students was worrying. He urged government agencies to look into the matter immediately, particularly those in the intelligence community.
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If the Chinese students were studying remotely, there was no reason for them to be in the Philippines, Beleno added.
“And what happened to those who secured student visas and did not enrol in schools? I don’t know what kind of training these Chinese students have to become agents of the state. But if they have such programmes or training back home as early as their age, that is something that we should be concerned about,” he said.
“If we only have the idea that the Chinese government is training them to infiltrate a certain government. In the long run, these Chinese students are here in the country but what if they will no longer return to China?”
Edmund Tayao, a political analyst and professor at the San Beda Graduate School of Law in Manila, said intelligence officials should deal with the matter proactively.
“We have always been a favourite destination for education by different nationalities. China is different and should have been treated differently given its direct involvement in our security issues. It’s already there and we’re doing damage control,” said Tayao.
“Our security agencies should work double time to determine the extent of its potential security implications. If many – if not most – of these students are here to infiltrate, we have a serious problem.”
Tayao cited the telecoms infrastructure in the Philippines as a major concern, as many service providers used Chinese equipment and software.
“If these students are here for the purpose of infiltration, they have a ready mechanism in place,” Tayao said.
Philippine authorities began implementing stricter visa controls for Chinese nationals this week after they discovered cases of fraudulent immigration applications that allowed foreigners to enter illegally or overstay.
Dana Sandoval, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration, defended the measure and denied that it was specifically targeted at Chinese nationals studying in the Philippines.
“The maritime dispute with Beijing was a key consideration. There have been changes in our relations with other countries, particularly with China. That prompted us to look into the numbers or activities of these [other] foreigner nationals,” she told reporters on Monday.
