China reacts to report on US’ Sinovac psy ops

Photo by Wang Zhao/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the United States for its alleged psychological operations campaign in the Philippines against Beijing’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccines.

A Reuters investigative report alleged that the US military ran a campaign against the Chinese-made CoronaVac (also called Sinovac) after Beijing blamed Washington for the pandemic, causing some Filipinos to defer from getting the shot.

DOH: Reuters report needs proper probe

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday said that their government has taken note of the report.

China—who has a known history of using the internet to distort the truth—slammed the US for its manipulation of social media.

“Facts have shown time and again that the US has persistently manipulated social media to spread disinformation, poison public opinion and vilify other countries’ image. We firmly oppose it,” said Lin in a press briefing.

“Put simply, when the US wants to contain and suppress a country, it chooses to ignore the facts and truth, and launches smears and vilification through ‘coordination’,” added the spokesperson.

However, the Philippines has also been fighting an information warfare with China after Manila noted the increase of Pro-China narratives echoing propaganda when it came to the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Health has said that the alleged psychological operations of the US must be probed.