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By Nick Carey MUNICH (Reuters) -Blocked from the U.S. market, Chinese self-driving technology firms are accelerating their push into Europe, setting up headquarters, striking data deals, and road-testing – prompting alarm from local rivals over competition concerns. In China, the world's largest car market, more than half of cars sold – including many entry-level models – now offer autonomous driving technology, sometimes as standard. Beijing is pushing its companies to dominate autonomous-vehicle development globally while crafting national regulations to provide a clear roadmap at home. That expansion is already underway. Reuters spoke to a dozen company executives who described how Chinese firms are using Europe as a beachhead for global expansion, mirroring the push with electric vehicles. "We're focusing on Europe for our global future," said Dong Li, chief technology officer of QCraft, which announced plans for a new German headquarters at last month's Munich auto show, citing a more open environment than in the United States. "There are barriers in the U.S. market," he said, referring to U.S. national security concerns over the data that autonomous driving systems collect. Europe offers a more open regulatory environment, the companies said, although driver-assistance systems there are currently limited to a few luxury models and developers complain about patchwork regulation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Friday for a continent-wide push to develop self-driving cars, acknowledging they were already a reality in the United States and China. "The same should be true here in Europe," she said. CHINESE FIRMS TARGET EUROPE FOR GROWTH QCraft, a Beijing-based startup that supplies driver-assistance systems, is working with Chinese and European automakers and expects to sell its technology in Europe within two years. Buses in 26 Chinese cities operate QCraft's Level-4 autonomous technology, meaning they can drive for extended periods without human intervention. Deeproute.ai, another Chinese firm focused on supplying Level-4 technology to automakers, plans to build a European data center once it secures deals now under discussion with European and Chinese automakers. Leading Chinese autonomous-tech developer Momenta, which supplies systems to automakers including Toyota and General Motors, has partnered with Uber to start testing Level-4 technology in Germany next year. Momenta announced in September it will supply driver-assistance technology for Mercedes-Benz in China, starting with the electric CLA sedan. Mercedes has started testing the same technology in Europe, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Momenta "has its eye on that prize: Europe", one of the sources said. EUROPEAN STARTUPS WANT FAIR COMPETITION Other leading Chinese self-driving players including WeRide, Baidu and Pony.ai are also expanding in Europe, said Yvette Zhang, automotive consultant with research firm AlixPartners. Like Chinese EV makers, they see an opportunity to generate higher profits than they can make in China's overcrowded market. "Investors expect growth," she said. "They are looking for other markets to grow." Some European rivals want subsidies and protectionist trade policies while others recognise that Chinese competition could sharpen technology industry-wide and accelerate Europe's lagging development. Jim Hutchinson, CEO of British startup Fusion Processing, which plans Level-4 driverless bus tests next year, argues for stricter oversight, citing national-security and competitive concerns. "If we want to have this technology, we need higher levels of regulation and a bit of intervention for a level playing field," Hutchinson said. 'EUROPE IS THE ONLY MARKET THEY CAN COME TO' Advanced driver-assistance systems that remain pricey in Europe are being offered cheaply – even free – in China by automakers looking to differentiate themselves in the price war. According to research firm Canalys, about 15 million cars sold in China this year – more than 60% – will have Level-2 technology, which allows automated driving under certain conditions but requires human drivers' attention. Chinese regulators in June approved nine automakers for public-road testing of Level-3 systems that allow drivers to look away in most circumstances. Following a U.S. ban on China connected-car technology under President Joe Biden, European governments have been seen as more accommodating to Chinese cars and technology, said Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights. "Europe is the only market they can come to," he said. "They have to make their move." Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of European autonomous-tech firm Wayve, advocates for an open market with streamlined regulations. Chinese competition, he told Reuters, will accelerate growth in a fledgling industry. "How many autonomous vehicles are there in the world today? Not many, right?" Kendall asked. "Even if you're in some subset of the world, there's acres of space to grow." At September's Munich auto show, Chinese self-driving firms including Momenta, QCraft, Horizon Robotics and DeepRoute.ai showed up in force for the first time, alongside Chinese EV makers, to tout their low-priced systems. Momenta's Level-4 testing with Uber will start in Munich, the hometown of BMW, which partners with Momenta in China. The Uber partnership is the "starting point for a broader rollout across Europe," Momenta's European chairman Gerhard Steiger said at the show. DeepRoute.ai CEO Maxwell Zhou echoed that ambition in an interview: "Europe is a huge market," he said. "It's very important for us." EU SEEKS UNIFIED RULES TO COMPETE GLOBALLY Europe's self-driving technology firms are testing their own systems but most European countries do not allow public deployment of anything beyond basic Level 2 systems that require drivers to maintain control at all times. The European Commission is aiming to harmonize a fragmented regulatory landscape for testing and eventual deployment of more sophisticated systems. For now, such testing is limited to a few markets including Britain and Germany. Berlin-based startup Vay is currently testing self-driving technology for robotaxis and buses in Germany and runs a remotely-driven rental car service in Las Vegas and with D'leteren's car rental unit Poppy Mobility. Vay co-founder Fabrizio Scelsi supports the EU push for simplified regional regulations and calls for more government backing to bolster domestic players while embracing foreign innovation. He said Chinese competition will force "European players to sharpen their strategies very quickly," as the race for autonomous dominance shifts gear. (Reporting by Nick Carey; Additional reporting by Rachel More and Norihiko Sihrouzu; additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo. Editing by Adam Jourdan, Brian Thevenot and Elaine Hardcastle)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Tesla on Sunday teased an October 7 event, as investors and analysts await a more affordable model to sustain sales momentum. In a nine-second video posted on social media platform X, the Elon Musk-led automaker showed a vehicle with its headlights illuminated in a dark setting. The company hinted at an event scheduled for Tuesday in a separate video that had "10/7" at the end. Tesla has previously delayed rolling out a lower-cost version of the Model Y in the United States. The company said in June that it had made "first builds" of the vehicle, but would start selling it in the fourth quarter and ramp up output slower than planned. The stripped-down version is designed to be roughly 20% cheaper to produce than the refreshed Model Y and could scale to about 250,000 units a year in the U.S. by 2026, sources told Reuters earlier this year. Tesla reported record quarterly deliveries for the three months ended September, driven by a surge in EV purchases ahead of the U.S. tax credit's expiration. The teaser videos followed the expiration of a $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit on September 30, a shift that could shape consumer choices and prompt Tesla to recalibrate its pricing strategy. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Tesla on Sunday teased an October 7 event, as investors and analysts await a more affordable model to sustain sales momentum. In a nine-second video posted on social media platform X, the Elon Musk-led automaker showed a vehicle with its headlights illuminated in a dark setting. The company hinted at an event scheduled for Tuesday in a separate video that had "10/7" at the end. Tesla has previously delayed rolling out a lower-cost version of the Model Y in the United States. The company said in June that it had made "first builds" of the vehicle, but would start selling it in the fourth quarter and ramp up output slower than planned. The stripped-down version is designed to be roughly 20% cheaper to produce than the refreshed Model Y and could scale to about 250,000 units a year in the U.S. by 2026, sources told Reuters earlier this year. Tesla reported record quarterly deliveries for the three months ended September, driven by a surge in EV purchases ahead of the U.S. tax credit's expiration. The teaser videos followed the expiration of a $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit on September 30, a shift that could shape consumer choices and prompt Tesla to recalibrate its pricing strategy. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Gilles Guillaume MEUDON, France (Reuters) -Renault's low-cost brand Dacia on Monday unveiled a prototype electric mini-car that could cost less than 15,000 euros ($17,625), potentially providing a competitive alternative to low-cost Chinese electric vehicles. The "Hipster Concept", which could go into production if the European Union agrees to create a new small car category, is tiny, only 3 metres (9.84 ft) long and weighing less than 800 kg (1,763.7 lb). The shortest car on the market in Europe today, Leapmotor's T03 city car, is 62 cm longer. The Hipster is "a concept of Dacia's bold vision for local, affordable and everyday mobility," said Dacia's CEO Katrin Adt, who recently moved from Mercedes-Benz. "If the opportunity to mass produce it arises, we are ready." CAR SIMPLIFIED TO SLASH COSTS The boxy three-door Hipster's maximum speed would be around 90 km per hour (55.92 mph) and it would have a range of 150 km. According to data from Dacia, the average car travels under 40 km daily at an average speed of 56 km per hour. Dacia has also simplified the Hipster to slash costs: it has canvas seats, a bare minimum of electronics, manual windows and straps to open the doors instead of handles. It could come in one colour, like the grey-blue of the prototype. Renault and Stellantis have spearheaded a campaign for a new EU small car category – inspired by the Japanese Kei Cars – that would come with fewer mandatory features than large cars, particularly in terms of safety. Proponents argue that an urban or suburban car can do without many of these features while remaining safe, and that this is the only way to massively cut weight and price. Dacia estimates the average new car price rose 63% between 2001 and 2020, and that European buyers need more affordable models. But a new small car category, on which talks are underway, would likely come with conditions. "The regulations will also surely require the vehicle to be produced in Europe," David Durand, design director of the Dacia brand, told Reuters. "We also need to develop the industrial model that goes with it." ($1 = 0.8511 euros) (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Writing by Nick Carey; Editing by Jan Harvey)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -As Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in November 2021, Beijing's then-ambassador to Manila asked Filipinos on Facebook to share their favorite things about China.  Among the hundreds of gushing responses were three from a young man named “Vince Dimaano.” His comments – like many responding to the Chinese embassy’s posts – weren’t genuine. They came from fake accounts paid for by the diplomatic mission, according to internal documents from a Manila-based marketing agency.  The firm, InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, waged a cyber campaign paid for by China to weaken support for Philippine government policy and to sow discord over Manila’s security alliance with the United States, according to a review of the documents and the fake Facebook accounts, as well as interviews with two former company employees and two Philippine officials.  The Chinese-owned company also used the fake profiles to amplify anti-American content created by Filipino writers, including some who had received money from Beijing, Reuters found. InfinitUs and its owner Paul Li did not respond to questions. The company has previously denied any involvement with “illicit digital activity.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters that Beijing doesn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Allegations of Chinese influence campaigns made by some Filipino politicians “have failed and instead have backfired,” the spokesperson said.  The explosion of social media has turbocharged influence operations in the Philippines, according to Jonathan Malaya, until recently a senior official with the Philippine National Security Council. Manila is of increasing strategic importance to Washington and Beijing due to its proximity to Taiwan. China’s leaders have asked their military to be ready to seize the democratically governed island by 2027.  InfinitUs first came under the spotlight at an April Senate hearing, when then-Majority Leader Francis Tolentino accused it of using fake accounts to boost the embassy’s profile and conduct an “influence operation” against the Philippines. Tolentino produced a copy of a check from the embassy to InfinitUs and highlighted posts by accounts that Reuters later identified as inauthentic, but he did not elaborate further.  The scope of InfinitUs’s activities went beyond the pro-China propaganda that Tolentino alleged, Reuters reporting revealed. Its work included disparaging the U.S.-Philippine alliance and Western-made COVID vaccines. The news agency also uncovered that InfinitUs had created Ni Hao Manila, a media outlet designed to look Filipino-run, according to the former employees.  InfinitUs employees used accounts masquerading as pro-Beijing Filipinos to attack the U.S. and abuse a prominent nationalist lawmaker, the profiles and company records show. The documents include an August 2023 contract tasking InfinitUs with “guiding public opinion” on Facebook and X, as well as work-progress reports created for the embassy. Reuters identified at least ten Facebook accounts that were part of what InfinitUs called an “army” in the documents. The platform’s owner Meta did not comment on the influence campaign but confirmed the accounts violated policy and removed them after being alerted by the news agency.  “ARMY ALWAYS SUPPORTS THE ADVOCACIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR’S PAGE,” read one work-progress report, referring to the troll army.  “Army propagated the special video explainer about the cons of the Typhon missile of the US being deployed (sic) the Philippines,” said another report from November 2024.  The accounts also promoted pro-China content featuring Filipino media personalities. They include Rommel Banlaoi, a Chinese-educated counter-terrorism scholar whose 2022 nomination to be deputy national security advisor was successfully opposed by security officials.  Banlaoi was among dozens of prominent Filipinos who have received awards from the Association of Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) since 2021. The organization was re-established by ex-Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agency that the U.S. previously accused of "co-opting subnational governments."  The embassy-funded awards came with thousands of dollars – multiples of the average Philippine monthly wage – APCU told Reuters.  Banlaoi did not respond to questions. Asked about Reuters’ findings, Malaya – the Philippine official – said the government was aware “third-party proxies” echoed Chinese talking points that were then circulated by fake accounts “in an attempt to give it virality.”    “The end goal (of China) is to make the Philippines compliant,” Tolentino told Reuters.  The Philippines lacks robust foreign interference laws, though lawmakers are working on modernizing and expanding the rules so they also punish spreading disinformation. Potential penalties include heavy fines.  The activities of the InfinitUs-controlled accounts fit China’s foreign influence playbook, said Bethany Allen of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, who has studied such information campaigns and reviewed Reuters’ findings.  X and YouTube host many accounts “which promote ‘happy nice China’ content (and sometimes more directly political content),” she said in an email, adding that they usually did not disclose affiliation with Beijing despite likely being funded by the CCP.  YouTube owner Alphabet and X did not return requests for comment.  CHINA, U.S. WAGE INFORMATION WAR  Both China and the U.S. have engaged in infowars over the Philippines. Reuters revealed last year the U.S. had operated a program during the pandemic to undermine Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, including through fake social-media accounts.    The Chinese embassy said at that time that Washington should “stop slandering and smearing other countries."   The U.S. has more recently slashed funding for programs aimed at countering Beijing’s propaganda. In April, the State Department shuttered an office that had worked closely with Manila to counter Chinese influence campaigns after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused it of censorship and wasting funds.  Manila had contributed to a database on Chinese operations run by the office, according to a Philippine official familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that Manila and Washington continue to cooperate against “malign CCP activities.” “Operations that undermine democratic discourse or spread discord are unacceptable” and foreign interference in the Philippines must be challenged, the spokesperson added.  The White House said in a statement that its effort to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse has not hindered U.S. influence.” TROLL ARMY   Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has, since taking office in 2022, forged closer security ties between Washington and Manila, a former colony that remains a key node in America’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.  The Philippines also maintains extensive cultural and economic links with neighboring China.     Marcos Jr, who succeeded the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte, has said that Manila would inevitably be pulled into any conflict over Taiwan.
  Manila has also taken a more assertive stance in its territorial dispute with Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea. China has frequently disrupted – sometimes violently – operations of Philippine vessels in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Marcos Jr’s foreign policy marked a sharp departure from his predecessor. While Duterte cozied up to China, Beijing rapidly militarized reclaimed islands in disputed waters and conducted aggressive maneuvers at sea. As China’s image in the Philippines suffered, its Manila mission turned to Infini…

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -As Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in November 2021, Beijing's then-ambassador to Manila asked Filipinos on Facebook to share their favorite things about China.  Among the hundreds of gushing responses were three from a young man named “Vince Dimaano.” His comments – like many responding to the Chinese embassy’s posts – weren’t genuine. They came from fake accounts paid for by the diplomatic mission, according to internal documents from a Manila-based marketing agency.  The firm, InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, waged a cyber campaign paid for by China to weaken support for Philippine government policy and to sow discord over Manila’s security alliance with the United States, according to a review of the documents and the fake Facebook accounts, as well as interviews with two former company employees and two Philippine officials.  The Chinese-owned company also used the fake profiles to amplify anti-American content created by Filipino writers, including some who had received money from Beijing, Reuters found. InfinitUs and its owner Paul Li did not respond to questions. The company has previously denied any involvement with “illicit digital activity.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters that Beijing doesn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Allegations of Chinese influence campaigns made by some Filipino politicians “have failed and instead have backfired,” the spokesperson said.  The explosion of social media has turbocharged influence operations in the Philippines, according to Jonathan Malaya, until recently a senior official with the Philippine National Security Council. Manila is of increasing strategic importance to Washington and Beijing due to its proximity to Taiwan. China’s leaders have asked their military to be ready to seize the democratically governed island by 2027.  InfinitUs first came under the spotlight at an April Senate hearing, when then-Majority Leader Francis Tolentino accused it of using fake accounts to boost the embassy’s profile and conduct an “influence operation” against the Philippines. Tolentino produced a copy of a check from the embassy to InfinitUs and highlighted posts by accounts that Reuters later identified as inauthentic, but he did not elaborate further.  The scope of InfinitUs’s activities went beyond the pro-China propaganda that Tolentino alleged, Reuters reporting revealed. Its work included disparaging the U.S.-Philippine alliance and Western-made COVID vaccines. The news agency also uncovered that InfinitUs had created Ni Hao Manila, a media outlet designed to look Filipino-run, according to the former employees.  InfinitUs employees used accounts masquerading as pro-Beijing Filipinos to attack the U.S. and abuse a prominent nationalist lawmaker, the profiles and company records show. The documents include an August 2023 contract tasking InfinitUs with “guiding public opinion” on Facebook and X, as well as work-progress reports created for the embassy. Reuters identified at least ten Facebook accounts that were part of what InfinitUs called an “army” in the documents. The platform’s owner Meta did not comment on the influence campaign but confirmed the accounts violated policy and removed them after being alerted by the news agency.  “ARMY ALWAYS SUPPORTS THE ADVOCACIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR’S PAGE,” read one work-progress report, referring to the troll army.  “Army propagated the special video explainer about the cons of the Typhon missile of the US being deployed (sic) the Philippines,” said another report from November 2024.  The accounts also promoted pro-China content featuring Filipino media personalities. They include Rommel Banlaoi, a Chinese-educated counter-terrorism scholar whose 2022 nomination to be deputy national security advisor was successfully opposed by security officials.  Banlaoi was among dozens of prominent Filipinos who have received awards from the Association of Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) since 2021. The organization was re-established by ex-Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agency that the U.S. previously accused of "co-opting subnational governments."  The embassy-funded awards came with thousands of dollars – multiples of the average Philippine monthly wage – APCU told Reuters.  Banlaoi did not respond to questions. Asked about Reuters’ findings, Malaya – the Philippine official – said the government was aware “third-party proxies” echoed Chinese talking points that were then circulated by fake accounts “in an attempt to give it virality.”    “The end goal (of China) is to make the Philippines compliant,” Tolentino told Reuters.  The Philippines lacks robust foreign interference laws, though lawmakers are working on modernizing and expanding the rules so they also punish spreading disinformation. Potential penalties include heavy fines.  The activities of the InfinitUs-controlled accounts fit China’s foreign influence playbook, said Bethany Allen of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, who has studied such information campaigns and reviewed Reuters’ findings.  X and YouTube host many accounts “which promote ‘happy nice China’ content (and sometimes more directly political content),” she said in an email, adding that they usually did not disclose affiliation with Beijing despite likely being funded by the CCP.  YouTube owner Alphabet and X did not return requests for comment.  CHINA, U.S. WAGE INFORMATION WAR  Both China and the U.S. have engaged in infowars over the Philippines. Reuters revealed last year the U.S. had operated a program during the pandemic to undermine Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, including through fake social-media accounts.    The Chinese embassy said at that time that Washington should “stop slandering and smearing other countries."   The U.S. has more recently slashed funding for programs aimed at countering Beijing’s propaganda. In April, the State Department shuttered an office that had worked closely with Manila to counter Chinese influence campaigns after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused it of censorship and wasting funds.  Manila had contributed to a database on Chinese operations run by the office, according to a Philippine official familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that Manila and Washington continue to cooperate against “malign CCP activities.” “Operations that undermine democratic discourse or spread discord are unacceptable” and foreign interference in the Philippines must be challenged, the spokesperson added.  The White House said in a statement that its effort to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse has not hindered U.S. influence.” TROLL ARMY   Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has, since taking office in 2022, forged closer security ties between Washington and Manila, a former colony that remains a key node in America’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.  The Philippines also maintains extensive cultural and economic links with neighboring China.     Marcos Jr, who succeeded the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte, has said that Manila would inevitably be pulled into any conflict over Taiwan.
  Manila has also taken a more assertive stance in its territorial dispute with Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea. China has frequently disrupted – sometimes violently – operations of Philippine vessels in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Marcos Jr’s foreign policy marked a sharp departure from his predecessor. While Duterte cozied up to China, Beijing rapidly militarized reclaimed islands in disputed waters and conducted aggressive maneuvers at sea. As China’s image in the Philippines suffered, its Manila mission turned to Infini…

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -As Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in November 2021, Beijing's then-ambassador to Manila asked Filipinos on Facebook to share their favorite things about China.  Among the hundreds of gushing responses were three from a young man named “Vince Dimaano.” His comments – like many responding to the Chinese embassy’s posts – weren’t genuine. They came from fake accounts paid for by the diplomatic mission, according to internal documents from a Manila-based marketing agency.  The firm, InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, waged a cyber campaign paid for by China to weaken support for Philippine government policy and to sow discord over Manila’s security alliance with the United States, according to a review of the documents and the fake Facebook accounts, as well as interviews with two former company employees and two Philippine officials.  The Chinese-owned company also used the fake profiles to amplify anti-American content created by Filipino writers, including some who had received money from Beijing, Reuters found. InfinitUs and its owner Paul Li did not respond to questions. The company has previously denied any involvement with “illicit digital activity.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters that Beijing doesn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Allegations of Chinese influence campaigns made by some Filipino politicians “have failed and instead have backfired,” the spokesperson said.  The explosion of social media has turbocharged influence operations in the Philippines, according to Jonathan Malaya, until recently a senior official with the Philippine National Security Council. Manila is of increasing strategic importance to Washington and Beijing due to its proximity to Taiwan. China’s leaders have asked their military to be ready to seize the democratically governed island by 2027.  InfinitUs first came under the spotlight at an April Senate hearing, when then-Majority Leader Francis Tolentino accused it of using fake accounts to boost the embassy’s profile and conduct an “influence operation” against the Philippines. Tolentino produced a copy of a check from the embassy to InfinitUs and highlighted posts by accounts that Reuters later identified as inauthentic, but he did not elaborate further.  The scope of InfinitUs’s activities went beyond the pro-China propaganda that Tolentino alleged, Reuters reporting revealed. Its work included disparaging the U.S.-Philippine alliance and Western-made COVID vaccines. The news agency also uncovered that InfinitUs had created Ni Hao Manila, a media outlet designed to look Filipino-run, according to the former employees.  InfinitUs employees used accounts masquerading as pro-Beijing Filipinos to attack the U.S. and abuse a prominent nationalist lawmaker, the profiles and company records show. The documents include an August 2023 contract tasking InfinitUs with “guiding public opinion” on Facebook and X, as well as work-progress reports created for the embassy. Reuters identified at least ten Facebook accounts that were part of what InfinitUs called an “army” in the documents. The platform’s owner Meta did not comment on the influence campaign but confirmed the accounts violated policy and removed them after being alerted by the news agency.  “ARMY ALWAYS SUPPORTS THE ADVOCACIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR’S PAGE,” read one work-progress report, referring to the troll army.  “Army propagated the special video explainer about the cons of the Typhon missile of the US being deployed (sic) the Philippines,” said another report from November 2024.  The accounts also promoted pro-China content featuring Filipino media personalities. They include Rommel Banlaoi, a Chinese-educated counter-terrorism scholar whose 2022 nomination to be deputy national security advisor was successfully opposed by security officials.  Banlaoi was among dozens of prominent Filipinos who have received awards from the Association of Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) since 2021. The organization was re-established by ex-Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agency that the U.S. previously accused of "co-opting subnational governments."  The embassy-funded awards came with thousands of dollars – multiples of the average Philippine monthly wage – APCU told Reuters.  Banlaoi did not respond to questions. Asked about Reuters’ findings, Malaya – the Philippine official – said the government was aware “third-party proxies” echoed Chinese talking points that were then circulated by fake accounts “in an attempt to give it virality.”    “The end goal (of China) is to make the Philippines compliant,” Tolentino told Reuters.  The Philippines lacks robust foreign interference laws, though lawmakers are working on modernizing and expanding the rules so they also punish spreading disinformation. Potential penalties include heavy fines.  The activities of the InfinitUs-controlled accounts fit China’s foreign influence playbook, said Bethany Allen of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, who has studied such information campaigns and reviewed Reuters’ findings.  X and YouTube host many accounts “which promote ‘happy nice China’ content (and sometimes more directly political content),” she said in an email, adding that they usually did not disclose affiliation with Beijing despite likely being funded by the CCP.  YouTube owner Alphabet and X did not return requests for comment.  CHINA, U.S. WAGE INFORMATION WAR  Both China and the U.S. have engaged in infowars over the Philippines. Reuters revealed last year the U.S. had operated a program during the pandemic to undermine Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, including through fake social-media accounts.    The Chinese embassy said at that time that Washington should “stop slandering and smearing other countries."   The U.S. has more recently slashed funding for programs aimed at countering Beijing’s propaganda. In April, the State Department shuttered an office that had worked closely with Manila to counter Chinese influence campaigns after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused it of censorship and wasting funds.  Manila had contributed to a database on Chinese operations run by the office, according to a Philippine official familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that Manila and Washington continue to cooperate against “malign CCP activities.” “Operations that undermine democratic discourse or spread discord are unacceptable” and foreign interference in the Philippines must be challenged, the spokesperson added.  The White House said in a statement that its effort to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse has not hindered U.S. influence.” TROLL ARMY   Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has, since taking office in 2022, forged closer security ties between Washington and Manila, a former colony that remains a key node in America’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.  The Philippines also maintains extensive cultural and economic links with neighboring China.     Marcos Jr, who succeeded the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte, has said that Manila would inevitably be pulled into any conflict over Taiwan.
  Manila has also taken a more assertive stance in its territorial dispute with Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea. China has frequently disrupted – sometimes violently – operations of Philippine vessels in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Marcos Jr’s foreign policy marked a sharp departure from his predecessor. While Duterte cozied up to China, Beijing rapidly militarized reclaimed islands in disputed waters and conducted aggressive maneuvers at sea. As China’s image in the Philippines suffered, its Manila mission turned to Infini…

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -As Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in November 2021, Beijing's then-ambassador to Manila asked Filipinos on Facebook to share their favorite things about China.  Among the hundreds of gushing responses were three from a young man named “Vince Dimaano.” His comments – like many responding to the Chinese embassy’s posts – weren’t genuine. They came from fake accounts paid for by the diplomatic mission, according to internal documents from a Manila-based marketing agency.  The firm, InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, waged a cyber campaign paid for by China to weaken support for Philippine government policy and to sow discord over Manila’s security alliance with the United States, according to a review of the documents and the fake Facebook accounts, as well as interviews with two former company employees and two Philippine officials.  The Chinese-owned company also used the fake profiles to amplify anti-American content created by Filipino writers, including some who had received money from Beijing, Reuters found. InfinitUs and its owner Paul Li did not respond to questions. The company has previously denied any involvement with “illicit digital activity.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters that Beijing doesn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Allegations of Chinese influence campaigns made by some Filipino politicians “have failed and instead have backfired,” the spokesperson said.  The explosion of social media has turbocharged influence operations in the Philippines, according to Jonathan Malaya, until recently a senior official with the Philippine National Security Council. Manila is of increasing strategic importance to Washington and Beijing due to its proximity to Taiwan. China’s leaders have asked their military to be ready to seize the democratically governed island by 2027.  InfinitUs first came under the spotlight at an April Senate hearing, when then-Majority Leader Francis Tolentino accused it of using fake accounts to boost the embassy’s profile and conduct an “influence operation” against the Philippines. Tolentino produced a copy of a check from the embassy to InfinitUs and highlighted posts by accounts that Reuters later identified as inauthentic, but he did not elaborate further.  The scope of InfinitUs’s activities went beyond the pro-China propaganda that Tolentino alleged, Reuters reporting revealed. Its work included disparaging the U.S.-Philippine alliance and Western-made COVID vaccines. The news agency also uncovered that InfinitUs had created Ni Hao Manila, a media outlet designed to look Filipino-run, according to the former employees.  InfinitUs employees used accounts masquerading as pro-Beijing Filipinos to attack the U.S. and abuse a prominent nationalist lawmaker, the profiles and company records show. The documents include an August 2023 contract tasking InfinitUs with “guiding public opinion” on Facebook and X, as well as work-progress reports created for the embassy. Reuters identified at least ten Facebook accounts that were part of what InfinitUs called an “army” in the documents. The platform’s owner Meta did not comment on the influence campaign but confirmed the accounts violated policy and removed them after being alerted by the news agency.  “ARMY ALWAYS SUPPORTS THE ADVOCACIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR’S PAGE,” read one work-progress report, referring to the troll army.  “Army propagated the special video explainer about the cons of the Typhon missile of the US being deployed (sic) the Philippines,” said another report from November 2024.  The accounts also promoted pro-China content featuring Filipino media personalities. They include Rommel Banlaoi, a Chinese-educated counter-terrorism scholar whose 2022 nomination to be deputy national security advisor was successfully opposed by security officials.  Banlaoi was among dozens of prominent Filipinos who have received awards from the Association of Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) since 2021. The organization was re-established by ex-Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agency that the U.S. previously accused of "co-opting subnational governments."  The embassy-funded awards came with thousands of dollars – multiples of the average Philippine monthly wage – APCU told Reuters.  Banlaoi did not respond to questions. Asked about Reuters’ findings, Malaya – the Philippine official – said the government was aware “third-party proxies” echoed Chinese talking points that were then circulated by fake accounts “in an attempt to give it virality.”    “The end goal (of China) is to make the Philippines compliant,” Tolentino told Reuters.  The Philippines lacks robust foreign interference laws, though lawmakers are working on modernizing and expanding the rules so they also punish spreading disinformation. Potential penalties include heavy fines.  The activities of the InfinitUs-controlled accounts fit China’s foreign influence playbook, said Bethany Allen of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, who has studied such information campaigns and reviewed Reuters’ findings.  X and YouTube host many accounts “which promote ‘happy nice China’ content (and sometimes more directly political content),” she said in an email, adding that they usually did not disclose affiliation with Beijing despite likely being funded by the CCP.  YouTube owner Alphabet and X did not return requests for comment.  CHINA, U.S. WAGE INFORMATION WAR  Both China and the U.S. have engaged in infowars over the Philippines. Reuters revealed last year the U.S. had operated a program during the pandemic to undermine Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, including through fake social-media accounts.    The Chinese embassy said at that time that Washington should “stop slandering and smearing other countries."   The U.S. has more recently slashed funding for programs aimed at countering Beijing’s propaganda. In April, the State Department shuttered an office that had worked closely with Manila to counter Chinese influence campaigns after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused it of censorship and wasting funds.  Manila had contributed to a database on Chinese operations run by the office, according to a Philippine official familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that Manila and Washington continue to cooperate against “malign CCP activities.” “Operations that undermine democratic discourse or spread discord are unacceptable” and foreign interference in the Philippines must be challenged, the spokesperson added.  The White House said in a statement that its effort to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse has not hindered U.S. influence.” TROLL ARMY   Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has, since taking office in 2022, forged closer security ties between Washington and Manila, a former colony that remains a key node in America’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.  The Philippines also maintains extensive cultural and economic links with neighboring China.     Marcos Jr, who succeeded the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte, has said that Manila would inevitably be pulled into any conflict over Taiwan.
  Manila has also taken a more assertive stance in its territorial dispute with Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea. China has frequently disrupted – sometimes violently – operations of Philippine vessels in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Marcos Jr’s foreign policy marked a sharp departure from his predecessor. While Duterte cozied up to China, Beijing rapidly militarized reclaimed islands in disputed waters and conducted aggressive maneuvers at sea. As China’s image in the Philippines suffered, its Manila mission turned to Infini…

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(Reuters) -Space tech firm Firefly Aerospace will acquire national security technology company SciTec for about $855 million, the company said on Sunday, just months after its Nasdaq listing, honing its portfolio at a time when U.S. military and civil programs are receiving increased investor interest. The deal, which will be funded through a combination of $300 million in cash and $555 million in Firefly shares, is set to close by the end of the year, Firefly said. In August, Texas-based firm Firefly secured a valuation of $9.84 billion after its shares surged 55.6% in their Nasdaq debut, marking the largest U.S. listing this year by a space tech firm. Firefly's acquisition of Princeton, New Jersey-headquartered SciTec will enhance its space services by integrating SciTec's defense software analytics into its systems, the company said. SciTec's core capabilities, which encompass missile warning, tracking and defense, intelligence, surveillance, among other elements, will bolster Firefly's existing launch, lunar, and in-space services. Once the deal closes, SciTec will be operated as a Firefly unit under Jim Lisowski, its current CEO, Firefly said. Rising geopolitical tensions and deteriorating international relations have put a spotlight on space and defense contractors. The deal would help Firefly strengthen its position as a space tech firm boosting its lucrative military-space prospects. Firefly has come a long way from a tumultuous past, including a bankruptcy in 2017 and the ouster of its CEO last year. In September, Firefly said its Alpha rocket booster was destroyed in a testing mishap. The incident was another interruption to Firefly's business just weeks after it closed an investigation into the failure of its Alpha rocket, which put a satellite owned by Lockheed Martin in a shallow orbit in late April, implying a mission failure. (Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Chizu Nomiyama)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Space tech firm Firefly Aerospace will acquire national security technology company SciTec for about $855 million.  The deal, which will be funded through a combination of $300 million in cash and $555 million in Firefly shares, is set to close by the end of the year, Firefly said. In August, Texas-based firm Firefly secured a valuation of $9.84 billion after its shares surged 55.6% in their Nasdaq debut, as investors continue to pour capital into companies aiding expansion of the U.S. space and defense program.. Firefly's acquisition of Princeton, New Jersey headquartered SciTec will enhance its space services by integrating SciTec's defense software analytics into its systems, the company said. SciTec's core capabilities, which encompass missile warning, tracking and defense, intelligence, surveillance among other elements, will bolster Firefly's existing launch, lunar, and in-space services. Once the deal closes, SciTec will be operated as a Firefly unit under Jim Lisowski, its current CEO. Rising geopolitical tensions and deteriorating international relations have put a spotlight on space and defense contractors. The deal would help Firefly strengthen its position as a space tech firm boosting its lucrative military-space prospects. Firefly has come a long way from a tumultuous past, including a bankruptcy in 2017 and a CEO ouster last year. (Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Chizu Nomiyama )

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)