The Philippine Department of National Defense said on Friday that foreign state-backed academic and cultural exchange programs needed to be put under greater scrutiny, amid concerns about the influence of Chinese state-linked institutions on local education.

Concerns Over National Security

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said public scrutiny and institutional transparency regarding foreign state funding in local education were “fundamental duties of national governance” and were necessary to protect both academic integrity and national security.

An investigation published this week by U.S.-based think tank SeaLight identified China’s Jinan University as the primary training destination for Chinese-language teachers working in Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines. Scholars from the university earlier claimed that the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes belonged to China.

Response from China

Dai Fan, director of the Center for Philippine Studies at Jinan University, said Philippine authorities were stretching the concept of national security too far and were treating Chinese-language education programs as a security risk without providing sufficient evidence.

The Philippine defense department said China’s National Security Law requires citizens, educational institutions, and private organizations to cooperate with state intelligence agencies, raising concerns about the independence of academic exchanges involving Chinese state-linked entities.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.