At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.

The U.S. military participated in secret propaganda against China’s vaccine, as acknowledged by a senior Department of Defense official, who did not reveal specifics.

The Pentagon’s actions aimed to counter China’s misinformation on COVID origins, according to a senior Defense Department official speaking with Reuters.