Philippines protests China Daily video depicting Filipinos as monkeys

The Philippines has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with China over an AI-generated video published by Chinese state media outlet China Daily that depicts Filipinos as a monkey. The video, posted on July 10, shows a monkey in traditional Filipino attire being forced by the United States and Japan to sing, then thrown into the sea and hit by a water cannon—a reference to the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award that Beijing rejects. Source: Al Jazeera

What happened

The 58-second video portrays the monkey holding a paper reading "South China Sea arbitration award" before being blasted by a water cannon. Manila called the depiction "demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist," demanding its immediate takedown. Source: AP News Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim raised the issue with China's ambassador, and the embassy in Beijing sent a letter to China Daily's editor-in-chief. Source: The Diplomat

Reactions

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the video "exposes the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine." Source: BBC China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated the video "does not represent the official position" and declined further comment. The video remained on China Daily's Facebook page as of publication. Source: CNA

Context

The protest comes as the Philippines marked the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea. Source: Al Jazeera The video is part of a series mocking Manila's stance, including depictions of Filipinos as clowns and snakes. Tensions have escalated with recent confrontations at Scarborough Shoal.