Philippines Defends Scrutiny of China-Linked Education Programs

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro stated that public oversight and institutional transparency concerning foreign state funding in education are essential for safeguarding academic integrity and national security. This comes after a report by the U.S. think tank SeaLight identified China's Jinan University as a primary training ground for Chinese-language teachers in the Philippines. The same university's scholars had previously claimed that the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes belonged to China.

In response to criticism from Dai Fan, director of Jinan University's Center for Philippine Studies, who argued that Philippine authorities were overstretching national security concepts, the Philippine defense department pointed to China's National Security Law. This law mandates cooperation with state intelligence agencies, raising questions about the independence of academic exchanges involving Chinese state-linked entities.

The department emphasized that its security evaluations are designed to combat "foreign malign influence, co-optation, and covert interference" and are not aimed at the Filipino-Chinese community. It further argued that genuine academic freedom cannot exist within state-controlled propaganda channels where free speech is suppressed, dissent is criminalized, and historical events, such as the Tiananmen Square crackdown, are censored.