In brief
The Philippines condemned a China Daily AI‐generated video that portrayed the country as a monkey, shouting dehumanising and racist remarks. The clip shows the monkey being forced onto a karaoke stage by a boat bearing U.S. and Japanese flags, then being flung into the sea and blasted by a water cannon. Manila’s foreign ministry demanded the removal of the clip, saying such imagery widens distrust, while the defence ministry labelled it “contemptible propaganda.” Tensions have escalated amid Chinese water‑cannon attacks, a floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal, and a refusal to accept the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling favouring the Philippines.
Philippines condemns China Daily’s AI‑generated video depicting Manila as a timid monkey.
Last week China Daily posted a clip that shows a monkey wearing a Philippine shirt, being shoved onto a rickety karaoke stage by a boat bearing U.S. and Japanese flags. The monkey then pulls out a sheet reading “South China Sea arbitration award”, is flung into the sea, and blasted by a water cannon.
Philippines’ foreign ministry called the portrayal “dehumanising and racist” and demanded removal. “Disagreement over legal and political issues does not justify resorting to disturbing imagery,” it said.
The defence ministry described the video as “contemptible propaganda” and accused China’s propaganda machine of “exposing moral and intellectual bankruptcy.”
China’s provocations include a floating barrier placed at Scarborough Shoal last June, water‑cannon attacks at the Spratly Islands, and barring defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro and his family from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
At the heart of the dispute lie the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, roughly 100 miles from Manila and 500 miles from China. The 2016 Hague tribunal ruling in favour of the Philippines remains ignored by Beijing, which denies jurisdiction.
China Daily’s caption for the clip mockingly labels the Philippines a “pawn in someone else’s geopolitical game” and notes the arbitration award as a source of confrontation, not peace.
While the Philippine government warns that such imagery widens distrust, Chinese authorities have yet to respond.
Recent clashes have involved high‐pressure water cannons, swords, spears and knives, underscoring the sharp escalation of the tensions.
