The Philippine government has strongly condemned China Daily, a state-run Chinese media outlet, for publishing an AI-generated video that portrayed Filipinos as monkeys — calling the imagery “racist,” “offensive, distressing and unacceptable,” and drawing a firm line against what it described as dehumanizing propaganda.
Manila formally demanded the removal of the video, which was posted to China Daily’s Facebook account on July 10. The Chinese Embassy in Manila had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.
The video depicted a monkey dressed in Filipino clothing being directed by arms representing the United States and Japan, instructing it on what to sing. After being called “stupid,” the monkey pulled out lyrics referencing the “South China Sea arbitration award” before being thrown into the ocean and hit by a water cannon from a vessel.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro was swift and blunt in his response, calling the material “contemptible propaganda” and “a disgrace to any State that claims to exercise responsible regional leadership.” He argued the video revealed “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 went further, saying: “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 video’s release on July 10 was not coincidental — it came as the Philippines was holding events marking the 10th anniversary of a major international arbitration ruling that struck down China’s broad territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has consistently refused to recognize that ruling.
“The recent spate of schizophrenic behaviour of the Chinese Communist Party is too clear to disregard or to ignore. This latest act of dehumanization further reveals them as neither a secure and confident actor nor a trustworthy neighbour,” Teodoro added in his statement.
The Philippine foreign ministry also weighed in, stating: “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.”
This latest diplomatic flashpoint comes amid ongoing friction between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea, which has included repeated confrontations between vessels at sea, aggressive actions by Chinese ships, Beijing imposing sanctions on Secretary Teodoro, and a dispute over a floating barrier China installed at the entrance to the contested Scarborough Shoal — which was later removed following protests from the Philippines.
