Philippines Lets China Telecom Venture Build on Military Land

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines military has allowed a venture of China Telecommunications Corp. to build on its camps, triggering concerns from the political opposition about spying.

The Southeast Asian nation’s military leaders signed a deal Wednesday with Dito Telecommunity Corp., the Philippine venture of China Telecom and Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. and Udenna Corp.

Dito Telecommunity will rent areas in military camps to build its network, an arrangement previously entered into by bigger rivals PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

The deal “raises fears of electronic espionage and interference given the record of some Chinese firms engaging in illegal activity,” opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan said in a statement on Thursday. “How can we be assured that there will be no breach of national security?”

The China Telecom venture has assured the military that its devices and structures “shall not be used to obtain classified information,” Philippine Armed Forces Chief General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said in a statement

Last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he worries over spying and asked online gaming companies hiring Chinese workers to operate away from military camps.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Clarissa Batino, Karen Leigh

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