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The chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has said that Beijing may be using “deepfake” audio recording to fabricate proof of an alleged “new model” arrangement between a Chinese diplomat and the head of the AFP Western Command (Wescom) on managing the tension at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
In a statement late Wednesday, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the AFP would “not dignify” claims by the Chinese Embassy in Manila that Wescom chief Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos accepted the purported arrangement, which included disallowing delivery of construction materials to the BRP Sierra Madre, the military’s crumbling outpost at Ayungin.
The Chinese Embassy said the recording was made during a phone conversation between Carlos and a Chinese diplomat on Jan. 3.
The Inquirer has not heard the recording and could not verify the identity of the persons who were speaking.
Carlos, who went on personal leave last week, could not be reached for comment.
China said it may soon release the audio recording.
But Brawner said the threatened public release of the recording “does not merit significant concern as it appears to be a malign influence effort from the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Transcripts can easily be fabricated, and audio recordings can be manufactured by using deepfakes,” he said, referring to audios or images altered or manipulated digitally to convincingly show people saying or doing something that they did not say or do.
“These reports,” Brawner said, “only aim to serve as a distraction from the China Coast Guard’s ongoing aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea.
