Two Chinese nationals were arrested on the morning of May 7 after a police entrapment operation caught them with an IMSI-catcher in the Bulacan region of Metro Manila (pictured). Very little information was provided, but the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police described the use of the IMSI-catcher as a potential threat to privacy and national security. This is consistent with an official narrative that keeps emphasizing the risk of China destabilizing democracy within the Philippines.
What is known about the men and the equipment matches the modus operandi of a Chinese man arrested near the Philippines’ electoral commission a few days earlier. In particular, photographs suggest they were using identical equipment, including the same kind of distinctive orange power inverter also found in conjunction with radio transmitters operated by criminals in several other East Asian countries. In addition to the IMSI-catcher and the power inverter, police also seized a battery, a wifi internet router and the Toyota Fortuner SUV that was carrying them.
Law enforcement agencies keep suggesting China is using the devices to conduct espionage but it appears more likely that they are primarily used as SMS blasters that transmit messages, rather than as tools to eavesdrop on private conversations. A Senate hearing held after the arrest outside the Commission on Elections (Comelec) concentrated on the danger of foreign agents spreading disinformation rather than gathering intelligence.
Look below for images of the IMSI-catcher (top), the battery (bottom left) and the power inverter (bottom right) that were seized by police in Bulacan.
Note the similarity of the Bulacan equipment to that found in the back of the car driven by the Chinese national arrested outside of Comelec’s offices (pictured below).
Note also the photographs of power inverters and batteries used in conjunction with SMS blasters found in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan (pictured clockwise from top left).
The state news agency’s announcement of the arrests in Bulacan can be found here.
