MANILA, Philippines — What began as a law-enforcement raid on a steel plant in Misamis Oriental has now turned into an increasingly bitter diplomatic confrontation between Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
The latest exchange erupted after Teodoro accused the Chinese Embassy of effectively acting as a “PR firm” — and even a lawyer — for Chinese businessman Yang Jianxin, better known as Tony Yang, and for Chinese nationals allegedly linked to illegal activities in the Philippines. The embassy quickly rejected the accusation, calling Teodoro’s claims baseless and accusing him of using his own version of “squid tactics” to distract from questions surrounding the May raid on Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
The war of words is no longer simply about dozens of detained Chinese workers. It now touches on Philippine sovereignty, diplomatic intervention, immigration enforcement, allegations of hazardous materials, the role of the military in domestic operations and the increasingly strained relationship between Manila and Beijing.
Embassy Tells Teodoro: Show the Evidence
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng has repeatedly challenged Philippine officials to substantiate allegations involving the Sanjia Steel operation.
In its August 16 statement, the embassy accused Teodoro of “distorting the facts” and questioned why Chinese workers were arrested while Filipino employees were allowed to leave the plant. It also questioned why the Armed Forces of the Philippines participated in the operation and why the detained Chinese nationals were transported to Manila aboard a military aircraft.
The embassy maintained that providing consular assistance to detained Chinese citizens is part of its diplomatic responsibility and denied Teodoro’s accusation that embassy officials improperly interfered with Philippine law enforcement.
It also pointed to a May 28 Department of Justice resolution that ordered the Chinese nationals released unless they were being held for another lawful reason. According to Reuters, the DOJ found insufficient evidence at that stage to sustain allegations against 64 of the detained workers; the remaining detainees were subsequently processed for release.
China later said all 70 Chinese nationals connected to the case had regained their freedom by June 17.
That legal development has become one of Beijing’s strongest arguments against Teodoro’s continuing public accusations.
Teodoro: Embassy Is Protecting People Accused of Illegal Activities
Teodoro, however, has refused to back down.
On August 20, he accused the Chinese Embassy of acting as a public-relations operation for Tony Yang and other Chinese nationals whom Philippine authorities have associated with alleged illegal activities.
“From their public statements in the past days it is obvious that they are covering up for these people,” Teodoro said, according to reports on the escalating dispute.
Bombo Radyo reported that Teodoro later went further, saying the embassy appeared to be “lawyering” for Yang and questioning whether foreign diplomats should be giving what he characterized as legal advice in a Philippine case.
The embassy rejected that characterization and insisted that protecting Chinese nationals from what it considers discriminatory or unjust treatment is legitimate consular work.
What Actually Happened at Sanjia Steel?
The confrontation can be traced to the May 15, 2026 raid on Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation, located inside the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
Contemporary reports described 69 Chinese nationals and one Filipino being apprehended during the initial operation, although Chinese government statements later referred to 70 detained Chinese citizens. Because official and media accounts differ on the exact initial breakdown, the safest description is that roughly 70 Chinese nationals became subject to detention or processing following the operation.
The operation involved the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, National Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies and was conducted pursuant to court-issued search warrants, according to Philippine officials and media reports.
Authorities initially investigated possible violations involving immigration and labor rules, workplace safety and potentially hazardous or radioactive materials.
PAOCC officials said investigators were looking at possible immigration violations because some workers allegedly lacked valid employment or immigration documentation. Authorities also raised concerns about industrial materials and possible violations of environmental or nuclear-safety regulations.
Teodoro separately alleged that authorities found potentially dangerous materials and questioned whether some of the steel produced at the facility met safety standards.
Those were government allegations and investigative findings, however — not final criminal convictions.
That distinction is crucial because the DOJ later ordered the detained Chinese workers released after finding insufficient basis at that stage to continue holding them over the complaints presented.
China Says the Raid Was Discriminatory
The Chinese Embassy and Sanjia Steel have painted a dramatically different picture.
They argued that the operation appeared discriminatory because hundreds of Filipino employees were released while Chinese technicians and workers were detained.
The company also disputed accusations surrounding its workers’ immigration status and denied deliberately using radioactive materials. Sanjia representatives said its Chinese workers possessed appropriate work permits or visas and maintained that it supported legitimate scientific inspection of the plant.
The company also pushed back against suggestions that Tony Yang remained its current owner, saying he had divested his interests years earlier and was no longer listed as a shareholder in its more recent corporate filings.
That point matters because Teodoro and several Philippine reports have continued to describe the facility as linked to Yang.
Tony Yang has faced separate legal scrutiny in the Philippines. The Bureau of Immigration previously said he had misrepresented himself as a Filipino and faced allegations involving falsified corporate information and other violations. He has also been scrutinized over alleged links to the country’s former offshore gaming industry.
PAOCC Rejects China’s Claims of Selective Enforcement
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission has meanwhile defended the Misamis Oriental operation and rejected the accusation that Chinese nationals were targeted because of their nationality.
PAOCC said the Sanjia operation was a legitimate multi-agency law-enforcement action and that the treatment of individuals was based on their circumstances and potential violations of Philippine immigration and labor laws rather than ethnicity or nationality.
The commission also defended AFP participation, saying the military supplied security and logistical assistance during the operation.
The agency accused the Chinese Embassy of disregarding Philippine sovereignty by publicly lecturing domestic authorities over what PAOCC described as a lawful operation.
That argument goes directly to the heart of the dispute: where does legitimate consular assistance end and interference in another country’s law-enforcement system begin?
Another Issue Is Making the Dispute Even More Explosive
The steel-plant controversy has become entangled with the detention of Filipinos in China.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in August that authorities had taken action against more than 100 Philippine nationals allegedly working or living illegally in China.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it was verifying the cases while emphasizing that China has the sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws, provided due process and consular obligations are observed.
But PAOCC chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. told a Philippine Senate hearing that Chinese Embassy representatives had earlier warned of a possible arrest of Filipinos in China if the Sanjia detainees were not released.
That allegation has added a much more serious diplomatic dimension to the controversy. China has publicly defended its immigration enforcement, while Philippine officials have raised questions about whether the arrests were being used as leverage.
No independent evidence cited in the reports reviewed conclusively establishes that the arrests of Filipinos were retaliatory, so that claim should continue to be treated as an allegation rather than an established fact.
Why This Fight Matters Beyond One Steel Plant
The Sanjia controversy is now about far more than the original raid.
For the Philippine government, the issue has become a test of whether Manila can investigate foreign nationals and companies without outside diplomatic pressure.
For Beijing, it has become a question of whether Chinese citizens are receiving equal treatment, due process and proper consular protection under Philippine law.
And for Teodoro, the confrontation comes against a wider backdrop of already difficult Philippines-China relations, particularly over maritime disputes and security concerns.
The unresolved legal questions surrounding Sanjia Steel may eventually be decided through Philippine courts and regulatory proceedings.
But the political battle is already being fought in public — and neither side appears prepared to retreat.
What Happens Next
Three issues will determine whether the controversy escalates further: whether Philippine authorities file or revive viable cases backed by stronger evidence; whether investigations involving Sanjia Steel or people linked to it produce new findings; and whether Manila and Beijing can separate legitimate consular protection from accusations of political interference.
Until those questions are settled, the arrest of a group of factory workers in Misamis Oriental will remain something much larger: another flashpoint in an increasingly confrontational relationship between the Philippines and China.
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