At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.
The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation.
Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
The Philippines is a major US ally in the region, hopefully they raise a stink about this. Nothing changes pentagon policy quicker than a potential loss of military strength.
With China’s ludicrous assertion of their 9dash line, their increasing aggression against the Filipino fishermen and lately, against the Filipino coast guard, I highly doubt this does any damage to the US/Philippino relationship. Maybe a stink eye and then never brought up again. It’s not like it’s the first time the US has been caught flat out while fucking around in SE Asia, or the Philippines. We’re about as graceful over there as your mom in the boys locker room (jk)
Duterte pulled back our relations during his presidency (while directing law enforcement to murder drug users without trial, real fashy, kwim?). After everyone got tired of his corruption and looting (to no one who pays attention to authoritarians surprise…) of the public coffers, Duterte got the boot, US/Philippines relations normalized, China went all 9dash dickhead and the Philippines even offered us our old naval base on Palawan back. <-- that pissed China off. Major, major force projection from there.
Don’t expect much to come out of this news, is all I’m saying.