MANILA, July 31 (Reuters) - The Philippine Department of National Defense said on Friday that foreign state-backed academic and cultural exchange programmes needed to be put ‌under greater scrutiny, amid concerns about the influence of Chinese state-linked institutions on ‌local education. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said public scrutiny and institutional transparency regarding foreign state funding in local education were "fundamental ​duties of national governance" and were necessary to protect both academic integrity and national security. An investigation published this week by U.S.-based think tank SeaLight identified China's Jinan University as the primary training destination for Chinese-language teachers working in Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines. Beijing-run institutions, including Jinan University, were invoking academic freedom despite operating in an environment in China where free speech was restricted, dissent ‌punished and politically sensitive subjects censored, it added. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for ​comment.