SUSPECTED Chinese hackers defaced the website of the University of Santo Tomas’ museum on late Monday in light of the increasing tensions over disputed islands in the South China Sea.
The hackers condemned the alliance between the Philippines and Vietnam against China by changing the home page of UST Museum of Arts and Sciences website with an image of soldiers in battle with loud music in the background.
Calling themselves members of “China 1937CN Team,” the group said the Philippines and Vietnam are “pawns” of the United States and Japan.
"South China Sea is China’s inherent territory," the group said.
Asked for comment, UST public affairs director Giovanna Fontanilla said they are currently fixing the problem.
She also said they did not know why hackers targeted the school.
The Philippines and Vietnam are two of the most vocal critics of China’s massive reclamation projects in the resource-rich South China Sea, which is also being claimed in part by Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
In April, Malacañang announced that the Philippines and Vietnam are threshing out the details of a strategic partnership to counter China’s aggressiveness in reclaiming uninhabited islands in the disputed waters. (Marie Shane Krizzia Delgado/ Roanne Therese Almoniña, UST interns)