The Philippines has fabricated Chinese espionage cases "without clear  facts", the Chinese foreign ministry claimed on Thursday, and urged Manila to protect the rights of Chinese citizens in the Southeast Asian country.

"Relevant Chinese departments have announced the specific circumstances of Filipinos in China engaging in espionage activities. Chinese judicial organs and relevant departments will strictly handle cases in accordance with the law," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said at a regular news briefing.

Beijing urged Manila to stop making "groundless accusations", and "handle individual cases involving Chinese citizens in accordance with the law and fairly", Guo said.

His comments came on the same day that China said it had arrested three Filipinos suspected of spying, Chinese state media reported.

Philippine authorities have arrested several Chinese nationals in a series of arrests involving alleged espionage as confrontations between the countries increase in the West Philippine Sea.

In one case two Chinese nationals allegedly paid a trio of Filipino accomplices to drive them through the capital Manila while using an "IMSI catcher", a device capable of mimicking a cell tower and snatching messages from the air in a 1-3 kilometre (about 3,200-9,800 feet) radius.

Vehicles carrying the devices were operating near sensitive sites including the presidential palace, the US embassy, Camp Aguinaldo, Camp Crame and Villamor Air Base, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Philippines arrests two more Chinese nationals over spying

In January, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said he was "very disturbed" by the surveillance of the country's military, following the series of arrests of alleged Chinese spies.

"We are very disturbed by anyone conducting such espionage operations against our military," Marcos told reporters.

In a statement, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the arrests underscore the need for "continued vigilance and proactive counterintelligence measures".

Confrontations between the Philippines and China over contested reefs and waters in the strategic South China Sea have escalated in recent months.

Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

China on Thursday meanwhile said it had "destroyed" an intelligence network set up by the Philippine espionage agency and arrested three spies from the country.

The latest arrests in China come two days after the Chinese embassy in Manila issued a travel warning to its citizens about frequent "harassment" from Philippine law enforcement agencies. - reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse

China arrests three Filipinos suspected of spying