Key facts
- The Philippines condemned China Daily for releasing a video depicting Filipinos as monkeys.
- The video is described as "racist, offensive, distressing and unacceptable."
- The video coincided with the 10th anniversary of a landmark arbitral ruling on the South China Sea.
- Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called the video "contemptible propaganda."
- Manila demanded the video be removed from China Daily's Facebook account.
The Philippines has issued a strong condemnation of China Daily, a state-run Chinese media outlet, for releasing an AI-generated video that depicted Filipinos as monkeys. The Philippine foreign ministry described the imagery as "racist, offensive, distressing and unacceptable," drawing a firm line against dehumanizing propaganda. The video, posted on July 10, coincided with events marking the 10th anniversary of a landmark arbitral ruling that invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, a ruling Beijing rejects.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro denounced the material as "contemptible propaganda" and "a disgrace to any State that claims to exercise responsible regional leadership." He stated that the episode exposed "the weakness of a government that resorts to racism, threats, and manufactured hatred because it has utterly failed to defend its ridiculous claims through reason, evidence, or law." Teodoro added that the "mockery of the lawful 2016 Arbitral Award and the video's glorification of violence against the Filipino people and soldiers expose the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine."
Manila demanded that the video be taken down from China Daily's Facebook account. The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The video portrayed a monkey dressed in Filipino attire being directed by arms representing the United States and Japan, subsequently being called "stupid," pulling a sheet of lyrics bearing "South China Sea arbitration award," and being thrown into the sea and blasted by a vessel's water cannon.
This sharp rebuke from Manila comes amid already strained relations between the Philippines and China over South China Sea tensions, including confrontations at sea, aggressive maneuvers by Chinese vessels, Beijing imposing sanctions on Teodoro, and the recent removal of a floating barrier installed by China at Scarborough Shoal following Philippine protests.