MANILA (Reuters) - Hackers operating in China attempted to break into websites and e-mail systems of the Philippine's president and government agencies, one promoting maritime security, but failed, an information and communications ministry official said on Monday. But using the internet protocol addresses, we pinpointed it to China," Paraiso said, adding the hackers were traced to be using the services of Chinese state-owned Unicom. "We are appealing to the Chinese government to help us prevent further attacks." The thwarted cyber attacks came at a time of heightened tensions with China, largely over disputed territory in the South China Sea. The Philippines is currently working on a five-year cybersecurity strategy to beef up its cyber defences to combat attacks and digital crimes.

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Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, DICT, Renato Paraiso, Paraiso, Neil Jerome Morales, Michael Perry Organizations: Department of Information, Communications Technology, National Coast Watch, Philippine Locations: MANILA, China, China's, Manila, South China, Philippines