The Philippines has condemned a Chinese state media AI-generated video that depicts the nation as a monkey being manipulated by the United States and Japan in the context of the South China Sea dispute. Manila described the portrayal as "dehumanizing and racist" and demanded the clip's immediate removal.
The video, posted on July 10 by China Daily, features an animated monkey wearing a Filipino shirt being shoved by figures bearing Japanese and US flags onto a boat stage. The monkey is then shown being scolded for singing the wrong song, pulling out a document labeled "South China Sea arbitration award," and subsequently being thrown into the sea and blasted with a water cannon.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs stated that "disagreement over legal and political issues does not justify resorting to disturbing imagery, which has no place in the civil public discourse of a responsible state." The ministry added that such "imagery and misinformation only serve to widen the distrust between the Philippines and China."
The Philippine Department of National Defense called the video "contemptible propaganda," asserting that it "exposes the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine." Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro characterized the actions of the Chinese Communist Party as "schizophrenic."
The incident occurs on the 10th anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in The Hague, which favored the Philippines and declared China's extensive claims in the South China Sea to be without legal basis under international law. China has disregarded this ruling.
Tensions in the South China Sea, particularly around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, have intensified in recent years. Both the Philippines and China accuse each other of provocations. The Chinese Coast Guard has frequently used high-pressure water cannons against Philippine vessels in these disputed waters, leading to damage and injuries.
In June, China installed a floating barrier at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines subsequently had removed after lodging diplomatic protests. Also in June, China denied entry to Defense Secretary Teodoro and his immediate family into mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
China Daily's caption for the AI video reiterated Beijing's stance, stating, "Ten years on, the so-called South China Sea arbitration award remains no remedy for peace, but a source of confrontation dressed up as law." The caption also accused the Philippines of "turning their country into a pawn in someone else's geopolitical game" by relying on external forces and causing trouble in the South China Sea.
The monkey video is part of a series of animated clips and cartoons posted by China Daily on Facebook in recent weeks, which have also depicted Manila as a clown and a snake in relation to the South China Sea dispute. Chinese authorities have not yet responded to the Philippines' condemnation.