Fears over ‘influx’ of Chinese students in strategic area

A public furore over an alleged influx of Chinese students to a Philippines province close to what is regarded as a militarily sensitive area has put the spotlight on the number of Chinese students in the country.

However, universities themselves have said the focus on Chinese students risks racially ‘profiling’ international students.

The Philippines Inter-agency Committee on Foreign Students which includes officials from the Philippines Bureau of Immigration, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency will hold a special meeting this week, outside its regular schedule of meetings, to discuss the reported influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province.

Universities and higher education authorities were keen to play down the issue, which could exacerbate already tense relations with China after lawmakers raised the alarm that there were ‘over 4,000 Chinese students’ at universities in Cagayan province in the north of the Island of Luzon, facing Taiwan.

The province now hosts two military bases which can be used by US troops in the Philippines, after Manila in April 2023 increased the number of such sites. The Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States allows for large-scale joint military exercises. Annual military drills involving 16,000 military personnel began this week and include areas near EDCA sites. They will continue until 6 May.

In a resolution filed in the Philippines Congress on 20 March, Joseph Lara, a Cagayan Representative, and Faustino Dy V, a representative from Isabela province, where another of the new EDCA sites is situated, noted “an alarming increase in the number of Chinese citizens coming into the province of Cagayan as students enrolled in universities”.

Lara said that the number of Chinese nationals in the province has become “highly suspicious and alarming”.

Referring to tensions in the Philippines territorial waters and the South China Sea, he said: “[With] the prevailing situation in the West Philippine Sea and in view of Cagayan’s strategic geographical location, the increasing number of Chinese students in the province poses serious concern to the national security of the Philippines.”

Number of students disputed

But the number of students is still unclear. While Lara referred to over 4,000 Chinese students, on 19 April the Philippines Bureau of Immigration said a total of 1,516 Chinese students were granted student visas in Cagayan in 2023.

“However, reports received only show more than 400 Chinese nationals are on-site, as the school is said to be implementing distance learning,” the Bureau added in a statement released over the weekend.

The Bureau added that the Chinese nationals were “legally processed” and had “complete documentation”. Some may also arrive later, officials said.

The number of visas for Chinese students for 2023 compares to just 20 in 2022, when as the Bureau pointed out, the effects of COVID travel restrictions were still being felt. It also compares to 9,000 student visas issued to Chinese students at different institutions in the capital region of Metro Manila.

Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the Philippines National Security Council, said a team had been dispatched to the capital of Cagayan. “Our intelligence units have been assigned to take a look at the situation there. Is this a case of a national security threat, or is this just a case of people wanting to study in the Philippines?” Malaya said on Saturday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said last week that the AFP was looking into the “national security implications” of the reported surge of Chinese students in Cagayan.

Dana Sandoval, the spokesperson for the Bureau of Immigration told local media it is “only right” for intelligence agencies to verify the concerns as it is a security area, though legitimate foreign nationals who want to study in the Philippines should not be denied entry, she said referring to the need to maintain a balance.

The Philippines Commission for Higher Education (CHED) said in a statement on 18 April that a significant number of Chinese students were enrolled in Saint Paul University Philippines (SPUP) – Tuguegarao City, in Cagayan. SPUP was granted autonomous status by CHED in 2002 and has the authority, granted by the Bureau of Immigration, to accept foreign students — the only higher education institution in Cagayan with this authority.

According to the university’s website, it is a Centre for Excellence in nursing and teacher education and is a Centre for Development in Information Technology.

CHED noted: “The foreign students are attracted by the affordable cost of quality education, the use of English as a medium of instruction, and the globally recognised quality of instruction in such fields as medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, public health, and engineering.”

But CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera declined to comment on security issues. “On the security aspect, we leave the matter to the expertise of our security agencies to investigate and recommend appropriate actions. We will support and attend congressional investigations and other inter-agency meetings concerning these allegations. We welcome and shall cooperate should any investigation be required,” he said in a statement.

Universities deplore ‘insinuations’

A coalition of universities in Cagayan which included SPUP, Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines, University of St. Louis in Tuguegarao, and University of Cagayan Valley said in a joint statement the only university in the province with foreign students was SPUP with 486 foreign students.

They stressed in a social media post on 18 April that reports of 4,000 – some media said 4,600 – were unfounded. “Contrary to what is reported by various media agencies, the 4,600 reported enrolled number of students is not only grossly overstated but completely baseless,” they said.

“The current foreign student enrolment at St Paul University Philippines (SPUP) in Tuguegarao City is 486 graduate students as of April 17, 2024, which consists of various nationalities (Americans, Chinese, Indonesians, Japanese, and Vietnamese),” they stated. Other institutions, including University of Cagayan Valley, University of St Louis Tuguegarao, and Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines, currently do not have foreign students, they said.

The statement added: “The insinuation that the presence of Chinese students in the City’s Universities poses a threat to national security is not only baseless but also deeply offensive.

“It is a blatant display of racism and Sinophobia that has no place in our society, especially within the realm of education.

“The suggestion that Chinese students may be involved in espionage is not only unfounded but also reflects a dangerous stereotype that unfairly targets an entire group of individuals based on their nationality. Such accusations not only undermine the integrity of our academic institutions but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes that have no place in a civilised society.”

The institutions also pointed out that visas for foreign students come under the jurisdiction of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Bureau of Immigration, and not the provincial or city government, and is not the task of the institutions.

“The rigorous screening processes implemented by these agencies ensure that individuals entering the country, including foreign students, do not pose a threat to national security,” they said.

“We are not against having foreign students, but what we fear is we have an issue with China. If there are 4,600 Chinese students in one private university and the private university even admits it, it is very alarming,” Lara said during a radio interview last week.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on 18 April: “Individual Philippine politicians are hyping up China-Philippines maritime issues and exaggerating the maritime differences in the name of national securityto serve their political agenda and self-interest and undermine China-Philippines cooperation.”