Philippines Protests AI Video by China Daily Depicting Filipinos as Monkeys

The Philippine government has strongly condemned a video published by Chinese state media outlet China Daily, which it says depicts Filipinos in a racist and degrading manner. The video, posted on China Daily’s Facebook account on 10 July 2026, is part of a series of opinion and editorial cartoons discussing the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling. It shows a monkey dressed in traditional Filipino attire being directed by hands representing the United States and Japan to sing a song. After being called ‘stupid’, the monkey picks up a piece of paper reading ‘South China Sea arbitration ruling’ before being thrown into the sea and sprayed with a water cannon from a ship.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described the material as ‘offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable’, stating that it employs degrading and dehumanising racial stereotypes. Manila formally raised the issue with Beijing on 16 July, with Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim conveying the Philippines’ strong objections directly to Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan during a face-to-face meeting. Herrera-Lim demanded the immediate removal of the content, asserting that it contradicts the principle of mutual respect between nations and could disrupt efforts to maintain stable and constructive bilateral relations.

The Philippines stressed that differences in legal and political views should not devolve into racial attacks or discriminatory propaganda. The video was uploaded to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 2016 international arbitral ruling that rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, a ruling Beijing has consistently refused to recognise. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the video does not officially represent the government and declined to offer further comment on the matter.