Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Saturday denounced a 'misleading and malicious narrative' spread by Chinese intelligence agents pretending to be journalists.

In a video released by the AFP on Sunday morning, Teodoro shared his experience with fake journalists who confronted him during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and asked if the Philippines was 'merely a proxy of America".

"I argued with them for a long time because they asked if we were just a proxy of the United States. I told them, 'No, we are not proxies. We are Filipinos. You're the ones stealing our territory,"' Teodoro said.

The defense secretary said that the Chinese journalists have not yet released the video,yet that they will probably twist the narrative of the video.

Teodoro also pointed out that Beijing did not send an official delegate to the dialogues, but 'sent young people pretending to be journalists - agents of their intelligence - asking disjointed questions and twisting the narrative.'

"They aren't real journalists. I thought they were real, so I responded that I'm Filipino and the Philippines is being aggrieved. Of course I'll answer back," Teodoro said.

Meanwhile, Brawner said the same group of alleged fake journalists posted a video on WeChat accusing the AFP of avoiding questions about the West Philippine Sea.

"They twisted the story and claimed that we were avoiding questions. They accused us of infiltration and encroaching into their territory," Brawner said.

Teodoro said that he has seen the alleged Chinese intelligence agents again and greeted them sarcastically.

"Earlier, I saw those kids again so I waved at them and said, 'Hello, agents of the Ministry of State Security!' They didn't approach me after that. Those kids are not real journalists," Teodoro said.

The AFP said in a statement on Sunday that the fake Chinese journalists violated protocol by approaching Brawner outside of formal engagements, and that the article published by the China Daily was a 'blatant piece of propaganda aimed at discrediting the AFP and undermining the Philippines' position in the WPS.'

“The AFP and DND remain committed to truth, professionalism, and defending the Philippines against foreign propaganda,” the AFP added.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is a high-level government security conference held in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS