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Philippine military steps up security, loyalty protocols to prevent data leaks to adversaries
- The military says it is working to boost coordination with US, and has raised staff salaries and strengthened training on cybersecurity threats
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The Philippine military is strengthening its security measures and personnel loyalty protocols to prevent the leak of sensitive information to adversaries following the recent guilty plea of a US intelligence officer for selling classified data.
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Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla, spokeswoman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, made the assurance after Sergeant Korbein Schultz of the US Army pleaded guilty last week to selling classified information, including documents about US weapons systems and its annual drills with its Philippine counterparts.
Shultz, 24, had been charged with conspiring to transmit national defence information, exporting defence-related technical data without a licence, and bribing a public official, after selling sensitive military documents to a foreign national believed to be associated with the Chinese government. He reportedly received at least 14 payments totalling US$42,000.
Schultz potentially faces decades in prison. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for January 23, 2025.
Padilla told This Week in Asia on Tuesday the military was working to strengthen its coordination with its US counterparts by signing an intelligence-sharing deal – the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) – aimed at countering China’s coercive behaviour in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s term for the waters of the South China Sea that lie within its exclusive economic zone.
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