MANILA (UPDATED) - Chinese state television has aired footage of three Filipinos who were arrested for allegedly working for the Philippine intelligence agency to gather classified information on its military.

State broadcaster CCTV showed videos of the alleged spies with under police custody. 

The footage showed three individuals speaking to and being questioned by the police. State media said that the three confessed to the allegations.

The Philippines has expressed alarm over the arrest, saying the three Filipinos are ordinary citizens and that their detention could be in retaliation for Manila's crackdown on alleged Chinese spies.

The Philippines' National Security Council said the three were former recipients of a government scholarship program created under an agreement between the southern Chinese province of Hainan and the western Philippine province of Palawan.

NSC casts doubt on ‘confessions’ by Filipinos arrested in China for alleged espionage

In a statement, NSC spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the video released by Chinese media showing their confessions “notably portrayed China in a positive light".

He added that other government agencies mentioned by the Filipinos in the video do not exist.

“There was also mention of a ‘Philippine Intelligence Agency’ or ‘Philippine Spy Intelligence Services’ which is a non-existing government agency. The ‘confessions’ appear to be scripted, strongly suggesting that they were not made freely,” he said.

“Given the limited information released by Chinese media, the arrests can be seen as a retaliation for the series of legitimate arrests of Chinese agents and accomplices by Philippine law enforcement and counter-intelligence agencies in recent months,” he added.

Palawan official says 3 Pinoys detained in China not spies

Meanwhile, an official of Palawan province on Saturday disputed the allegations of the Chinese government that three Filipinos they arrested were spies, saying they were former scholars who only wanted to help their family and learn abroad.

The three Filipinos — two male and one female — were former scholars of Hainan Normal University under an agreement following the sisterhood relationship between Palawan and Hainan, China, said Ryan Maminta, a provincial board member of Palawan.

Beneficiaries of the scholarship grant were given free lodging, monthly allowances, “comprehensive medical insurances and one round-trip ticket from Palawan to Haikou,” the Philippine News Agency reported in 2018.

Maminta said that when he heard about the arrests, he considered the possibility that these were retaliatory moves or were related to the Philippines' dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday that the Philippine government is providing legal support to the three Filipinos.

Ambassador Teresita Daza, DFA spokesperson, said in a statement that the department has been "formally made aware" of the allegations against the three.

"The Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou is providing all necessary assistance, including appropriate legal support," Daza said.

She added the DFA has communicated with the Chinese government "to ensure that these allegations are tried with due process and full respect to the rights of the said Filipinos in accordance with domestic law."

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment from media.

Philippine authorities have arrested at least a dozen Chinese nationals in the last three months on suspicion of espionage, accusing them of illegally obtaining sensitive information on military camps and critical infrastructure that could undermine Manila's national security and defense. - with a report from Reuters

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