THE Chinese Embassy in Manila on Sunday dismissed insinuations that the Mongolian arrested for spying in Zambales has ties with China. The 30-year-old graduating student pilot of an aviation school in Iba reportedly holds a jet fighter license from a People’s Liberation Army Air Force aviation authority university in China. “To the best of our knowledge, this individual has no affiliation with China,” the embassy’s deputy spokesman, Guo Wei, said in a statement. “Prejudging the matter before the facts are fully ascertained is fundamentally flawed and runs counter to basic principles of objectivity,” Guo said. The Bureau of Immigration (BI), in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, arrested the Mongolian for alleged activities deemed inimical to national security. Operatives of the BI Intelligence Division–Special Response Team, supported by elements of the 69th Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Division of the AFP, made the arrest on Feb. 12 at an aviation school in Barangay Lipay Dingin, Iba. In an earlier statement, the BI said that during flight exercises, the Mongolian took photos of Iba airport and the nearby Palauig River area. “The Philippines will not allow its institutions, including civilian training facilities, to be used for activities that may compromise national security,” the bureau said. The Mongolian was brought to the BI Main Office in Manila for booking, medical examination, and biometric processing. He will be transferred to the BI’s warden facility pending deportation proceedings.