Manila, March 27 -- Philippine authorities revealed the capture of six Chinese nationals and one Filipino, who were suspected of spying on US and Philippine navy ships near the entrance of the strategically important Subic Bay, as reported by Radio Free Asia.

The arrest of the Chinese suspects, whom authorities claimed were pretending to be fishermen, increased the total number of Chinese nationals detained in the Philippines this year for alleged espionage to 12. These incidents have occurred amid growing tensions between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea, RFA reported.

According to RFA, the seven suspects were apprehended after Philippine military intelligence informed the National Bureau of Investigation about "for...