US tells Philippines it made 'missteps' in anti-vax effort

Secret campaign targeted countries heavily reliant on China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine

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The United States Defence Department admitted that it spread propaganda in the Philippines aimed at disparaging China’s Sinovac vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a June 25 document cited by a former top government official earlier in July.

The US response to the Philippines was recounted in a podcast by Mr Harry Roque, who served as spokesman for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

Reuters subsequently reviewed the document, which has not been publicly released by either government, and was able to verify its contents with a source familiar with the US response.

“It is true that the (Department of Defence) did message Philippines audiences questioning the safety and efficacy of Sinovac,” according to the document, which references information sent from the US Defence Department to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of National Defence.

According to the document, the Pentagon also conceded it had “made some missteps in our Covid-related messaging” but assured the Philippines that the military “has vastly improved oversight and accountability of information operations” since 2022.

The US admission followed a June 14 Reuters investigation that revealed how the Pentagon launched a secret psychological operation to discredit Chinese vaccines and other Covid-19 aid in 2020 and 2021, at the height of the pandemic.

As a result of the Reuters investigation, the Philippine Senate Foreign Relations Committee launched a hearing into the matter and sought a response from the US.