Philippine telecom company Dito Telecommunity has responded to claims that communications equipment it installed at a military camp could be used by China for espionage, saying such concerns are “misplaced.
Company spokesman Adel Tamano said in a press conference Thursday (Sept. 17), “We are not at war with China, so this concern, in my opinion, is completely misplaced.
Ditto, the third-largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, was founded in 2016 at the urging of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and its main investor is the Chinese telecom giant China Telecom. The company holds a 40 percent stake in Ditto, the highest percentage of foreign ownership allowed in the Philippines.
Last week, the Philippine government approved Ditto’s construction of a network facility at a military camp.
The other two telecom giants in the Philippines are PLDT Telephone Corporation and Globe Telecom. They and Ditto are using network equipment (including 5G) from Chinese network equipment giant Huawei.
Because of China Telecom’s large stake in Ditto and the fact that Chinese intelligence activities are very active, many Filipinos are uneasy about Ditto’s use of Chinese equipment to build its network for Philippine military camps.
Security experts in the country, even former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, have called on the Filipino public to be wary of the security risks associated with the project. On Thursday, Carpio noted that Beijing “will definitely do wiretapping. Carpio has taken a firm stance against Duterte’s pro-China line.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros has asked the Philippine Senate to open an investigation into Ditto’s involvement in the barracks project.
Some congressmen have even called Ditto a “Trojan horse” deployed by China in the Philippines to spy on the activities of the U.S.-aligned Philippine military.
Ditto spokesman Tamano dismissed such suspicions as unwarranted. He said that the various equipment used by Ditto is not a security risk and that the company has invested heavily in cybersecurity. Also, Chinese are not allowed in the Philippine military barracks, where cybersecurity issues are handled by a retired Filipino general and a telecommunications expert paid by Ditto.
Tamano also explained that Ditto’s cooperation with China Telecom is only for technical advice and support and that the management of the company is in the hands of the Filipinos.
He said, “Look at the nature of this company. We have to abide by the laws of the Philippines and the Filipinos are in charge of the operations and management of the company. As a member of the board of directors and the management committee of the company, I can’t imagine that we would agree to spying or giving access to confidential information.”
He also asked rhetorically, “If we see Americans and Belgians participating in a private enterprise, why doesn’t anyone raise the alarm?”
Ditto is controlled by Dennis Uy, a wealthy Filipino businessman who is an old friend of Duterte. Udenna Group, his conglomerate, owns 60 percent of Dito’s shares.
The Udenna group has ties to several other Chinese state-owned enterprises in several large energy and construction projects. Reuters says that one of these Chinese SOEs is on the U.S. sanctions list for its involvement in island reclamation projects in the South China Sea.
Filipinos see these man-made islands as a threat to Philippine national security. Udenauer also admitted that the Chinese SOE was involved in the expansion of the islands.
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