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South China Sea: Chinese ‘cognitive warfare’ fears in Philippines as Marcos calls for deal probe
- Philippine President Marcos Jnr says he needs to hear the alleged audio of an officer making a secret deal with Beijing before drawing any conclusions
- Analysts say China’s claims about an alleged deal are likely a form of psychological manipulation aimed at breaking Manila’s resolve
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr could be falling prey to “cognitive warfare”, analysts say, by calling for a full investigation into allegations that a high-ranking Philippine navy officer made a secret deal with Beijing regarding conduct in the South China Sea.
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Unlike other senior Philippine officials, who have dismissed the Chinese embassy’s transcript and audio of the supposed conversation as fabricated, Marcos Jnr said he wanted to hear the recording himself before making any conclusions.
“China is breaking the Philippines’ united resolve through cognitive warfare,” said Joshua Espena, a resident fellow and vice-president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank.
“This goes back to the strategic ideas of Sun Tzu, of winning without kinetic fighting using deception to render [the Philippines’ defensive alliance with the United States] useless,” Espena said, referring to the author of The Art of War.
This week, the Senate Committee on National Defence and Security will formally investigate whether personnel at the Chinese embassy violated the country’s anti-wiretapping law by releasing an audio recording and transcript of an alleged phone conversation between an unnamed embassy official and Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos.
“We are looking into it because, the fact of the matter is, there have been mentions of a tape that confirms that there was this agreement,” Marcos Jnr said on the sidelines of an event in Makati City on Saturday.
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