The Philippines has strongly condemned state-run China Daily for releasing an AI-generated video that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, calling the imagery “racist,” “offensive, distressing and unacceptable.” Manila demanded that the video, posted on China Daily’s Facebook account on 10 July, be taken down. The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Video Content and Context
The video portrayed a monkey dressed in Filipino attire being directed by arms representing the US and Japan on what to sing. After being called “stupid,” the monkey pulled a sheet of lyrics bearing the words “South China Sea arbitration award” before being thrown into the sea and blasted by a vessel’s water cannon. The video was posted on 10 July, coinciding with Philippine events marking the 10th anniversary of a landmark arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea. Beijing rejects the ruling.
Official Reactions
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro denounced the material as “contemptible propaganda” and “a disgrace to any State that claims to exercise responsible regional leadership.” He said 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 “this 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.”
The Philippine foreign ministry stated late Thursday: “We draw a firm line at the depiction of Filipinos as monkeys in the 10 July 2026 video, which is deeply offensive, distressing, and unacceptable.”
Broader Tensions
Manila’s sharp rebuke comes at a time when relations between the Philippines and China are already strained by South China Sea tensions, including repeated confrontations at sea, aggressive manoeuvres by Chinese vessels, Beijing imposing sanctions on Teodoro, and a floating barrier installed by China at the entrance of the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal that was later removed after Philippine protests.
