THE Philippines is facing a “coordinated and sustained” cyber offensive from China, signaling a shift in geopolitical tensions from the West Philippine Sea into the digital domain through influence operations aimed at shaping public perception, manipulating discourse, and weakening institutional trust, a think tank said over the weekend. Speaking during the two-day “Navigating Digital Crossroads” cybersecurity forum held in partnership with the Embassy of Canada to the Philippines, Stratbase ADR Institute president Victor Andres Manhit said the country was engaged in what he described as an “unseen war” waged through information dominance, psychological operations, and digital manipulation rather than conventional military force. Manhit said modern conflict was no longer determined solely by weapons systems or troop deployments but by the ability to control narratives, influence decision-making environments, and shape public perception — developments he said were increasingly evident as regional tensions spilled over into cyberspace across the broader Indo-Pacific. “What reverberates within our domestic context affects the broader region. And developments in the region inevitably shape outcomes in the Philippines,” he said, describing the phenomenon as coordinated political warfare in which physical operations and informational campaigns move in lockstep to secure strategic narrative superiority. He cited Beijing’s so-called “three warfares” doctrine — composed of psychological, legal, and public opinion warfare — as a framework already reflected in operations that seek to undermine Philippine sovereignty by embedding strategic messaging into public discourse and amplifying pro-China narratives across online platforms. Manhit said such operations were often designed to fracture domestic consensus on national security issues and erode public confidence in democratic institutions by exploiting legitimate socioeconomic grievances. He expanded the traditional “four Ds” of disinformation — Dismiss, Distort, Distract, and Deny — by introducing a fifth element: Dismay, which he said was intended to gradually exhaust public confidence, deepen political polarization, and make resistance to foreign influence appear futile over time. Citing data from a Stratbase-commissioned survey conducted by Pulse Asia, Manhit said seven in 10 Filipinos had expressed serious concern over misinformation online, which analysts considered a major national vulnerability in an increasingly contested information environment. Survey results also indicated that a majority of Filipinos perceived corruption in government as widespread, 59 percent were concerned about inflation, and 48 percent supported stronger anti-corruption efforts. “These concerns are legitimate. But they also create vulnerabilities,” Manhit said, warning that public frustration — when amplified through algorithm-driven digital ecosystems — could be exploited to undermine the credibility of democratic institutions and influence policy outcomes. He pointed to what he described as China’s use of coordinated networks linked to its United Front Work to embed strategic narratives into Philippine public discourse through associations spanning business and chamber groups, academic exchanges, think tanks, study centers, and even sister-city partnerships. “We have observed a network of associations functioning as amplifiers of pro-Beijing narratives and actions,” he said, noting that influence campaigns may operate through both formal partnerships and informal online communities. Manhit warned of an emerging threat posed by local actors who may be amplifying pro-China messaging without transparency on affiliations or funding, contributing to what he characterized as a “shadow campaign” targeting Filipino media organizations, thought leaders, and social media influencers through coordinated cyber troops, trolls, and automated bot networks. He added that such operations rarely remained confined to digital spaces. “What begins as fake news rarely stays online,” he said, noting that disinformation often migrated into community discourse, policy debates, and eventually into national decision-making processes. The think tank further cautioned that potential foreign interference in the 2028 national elections may already be underway through long-term efforts to shape digital ecosystems and condition public sentiment online well in advance of the campaign period. Meanwhile, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said the country’s most exploitable weakness lay not in infrastructure but in public trust, emphasizing the need to strengthen institutional credibility alongside technological safeguards. Aguda called for faster incident response mechanisms, improved interagency coordination, and a whole-of-society approach to cybersecurity awareness that would involve collaboration among government agencies, the private sector, academia, civil society organizations, and international partners. Manhit said foreign interference tended to thrive in silence and fragmentation, stressing the need for strategic clarity and institutional cohesion to counter emerging digital threats that increasingly blurred the line between national security and public discourse. He added that national defense strategy must now incorporate information integrity and cyber resilience as central pillars of national security policy as the country navigates rapid geopolitical and technological change in the lead-up to the 2028 elections. “The next step is clear: bring this commitment back to our respective institutions. Act with urgency. Act with coordination. And act with clarity — so that gray-zone normalization never becomes accepted reality, and so that our sovereignty is defended not only at sea, but in the minds of our people,” Manhit said.