Beijing warns Chinese students of security and safety risks in Philippines

Beijing has issued a warning to Chinese students planning to study in the Philippines, its competitor in a highly contentious territorial dispute over the South China Sea, citing recent safety concerns and a string of criminal cases targeting Chinese nationals.

In a statement released on Friday, China’s education ministry urged students to “carefully assess security risks” and “strengthen safety awareness” before heading to the Southeast Asian country.

“Recently, public security in the Philippines has been unstable, with frequent crimes targeting Chinese citizens. The Ministry of Education reminds all students studying abroad to carefully assess security risks when choosing to study in the Philippines and to strengthen safety awareness,” the statement said.

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Figures released by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration last year revealed that only 300 to 400 Chinese students remained in the Philippines.

The advisory was issued amid tensions between China and the Philippines over their South China Sea territorial disputes. Manila, which is increasingly aligning with its treaty ally Washington, is viewed as Beijing’s most hardline opponent to its maritime claims.

This week, Manila accused a Chinese ship of damaging protected coral after running aground near Thitu Island, the largest base held by the Philippines and known as Zhongye Island in Chinese. It is weighing legal action against China and has demanded compensation of 11.1 million pesos (US$194,000), according to local media reports.

In April, the education ministry issued a similar warning for students planning to study in Ohio, the United States, that cited the state’s restrictions on education cooperation related to China.

The latest study advisory comes amid growing public safety fears for Chinese citizens in the Philippines, especially after several high-profile kidnappings and killings, as well as sluggish diplomatic relations between Beijing and Manila under the cloud of the South China Sea territorial dispute.

South China Morning Post