It is widely viewed as a racist remark.
In an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video uploaded by state media platform China Daily, it showed a central character, a monkey, who wore the traditional Barong Filipino and salakot.
In the minute-long clip, the character was depicted to have been dictated to “sing” by two people, with their arms having the texts USA and Japan.
When it did not sing according to “script,” the monkey was thrown out to the open sea and was greeted by a water cannon by what appears to be a Chinese vessel.
It also outright said that a piece of paper, where the words “South China Sea Arbitration Award” as “litter.”
Instantly, the video caused outrage among members of the Philippine government, which called out the video as a “racist” move by the Chinese side amid the ongoing maritime row over the West Philippine Sea.
SENATE PRESIDENT WIN GATCHALIAN
In a statement, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said that “there is no room for racism in free speech.”
“I am expressing deep concern over the July 10 video by a China-based media outlet depicting Filipinos as monkeys in connection with the 2016 Arbitral Award,” he added. “Freedom of expression, even in political disputes, is not a license to dehumanize people. Racism has no place in any society that values truth and civility.“
The SP also called for what he described as an “intelligent, respectful dialogue among all parties,” and urged media and institutions to “exercise greater circumspection and refrain from producing or circulating such materials in the future.”
Gatchalian also stressed that disagreements between nations should sharpen our reasoning, not prejudices. “We call on all sides to be more circumspect and to choose dialogue over derision.”
He also told that in a free society, mass media and communications platforms carry a social responsibility to uphold truth and civility in public discourse.
“Kinokondena natin ang pang-aabuso at pangungutya sa dignidad ng mga Pilipino,” the Senate leader emphasized. “Malaki ang responsibilidad ng media sa paghubog ng pananaw ng mga bansa sa isa’t isa, at hindi ito dapat gamitin sa maling paraan.”
DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
Meanwhile, Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the Department of National Defense, meanwhile, said that the video is a “revealing insight into what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks of the Filipino people.”
“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,” he continued.
The defense chief also said that such “contemptible propaganda is a disgrace to any State that claims to exercise responsible regional leadership.”
“It reveals 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,” he furthered.
The DND also stood its ground and emphasized that there will be no Ministerial or AFP defense engagements or contacts with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or any of its agencies.
“The recent spate of schizophrenic behavior 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 neighbor,” he added.
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Meanwhile, it the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs has also filed a formal diplomatic protest in connection with the video.
“The Philippines first conveyed its firm objection to the offensive content when Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim raised the matter directly with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan in a face-to-face meeting on 16 July 2026,” the Department shared in its statement.
Herrera-Lim had demanded that the materials be taken down as it is “inconsistent with the mutual respect expected between states and does no favors to the sound and stable management of bilateral relations.“
Moreover, it called out China Daily’s action that “went beyond legitimate political debate by resorting to demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist depictions of Filipinos.“
“The protest underscored that while the Philippines has consistently rejected false narratives and distortions regarding the Arbitral Award and its lawful positions in the South China Sea, disagreement over legal and political issues does not justify resorting to imagery that has no place in the public discourse of responsible states,” the DFA furthered.
Moreover, it also reiterated the call for the material’s immediate takedown and warned that such content only widens distrust between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Beijing has also sent a formal letter to the Editor-in-Chief of China Daily for the takedown of the offensive material.
“The Department remains committed to dialogue and diplomacy in its engagement with China, but will not hesitate to call out discriminatory and offensive rhetoric wherever it appears,” it added.
The video was released just days after the Philippines marked the 10th anniversary of its win against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands back in July 2016.
Last Sunday, July 12, a joint statement with 13 other countries was also issued to emphasize that the PCA ruling is legal and binding, as it abides by International Law.
