MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday evening demanded that China Daily remove a video depicting Filipinos as monkeys, calling the content racist, dehumanizing and unacceptable.
“The Philippines demands that the offensive material be taken down, calls for the immediate cessation of such irresponsible content, and urges China to uphold dignity, respect, and truth in public discourse,” the DFA said in a statement.
The department specifically denounced an artificial intelligence-generated video posted on China Daily’s Facebook account on July 10, saying it “goes beyond legitimate political debate” by portraying Filipinos as monkeys.
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“The Philippines has consistently rejected false narratives and distortions regarding the Arbitral Award and the Philippines’ lawful positions in the South China Sea,” the DFA said. “But 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.”
The department said disagreements over legal and political issues should not be used to justify “demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist” imagery.
“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,” it added.
The Philippines recently marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark July 12, 2016 arbitral award, which invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea based on its so-called nine-dash line. Beijing has repeatedly rejected the ruling, which it says is “null and void.”
The DFA said the Philippines has consistently pushed back against what it described as false narratives about the arbitral ruling and Manila’s legal position in the South China Sea.
It warned that the publication of such content only deepens mistrust between the two countries.
“Such imagery and misinformation only serve to widen the distrust between the Philippines and China,” the DFA said.
The Department of National Defense also condemned the video, joining the DFA in denouncing the content.
As of posting time, China Daily and the Chinese Embassy in Manila had yet to publicly respond to the DFA’s statement. /das
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