"Philippines Outraged Over Racist AI Video Depicting Filipinos as Monkeys by Chinese State Media"

AI Video Depicts Filipinos as Monkeys
"Insulting"... Tensions Escalate Between the Two Nations Amid South China Sea Dispute

After China's state-run media produced an artificial intelligence (AI) video depicting Filipinos as monkeys, the Philippine government lodged a strong protest, denouncing the video as racist.

AI video created by China's state-run English media China Daily belittling Filipinos. Screenshot from Daily Guardian Philippines Facebook.

On July 18, international media including the Associated Press reported that China Daily, a state-run English-language media outlet in China, recently posted an AI-generated video on its own social media platform, Facebook, portraying Filipinos as monkeys. In the video, a monkey dressed in traditional Filipino attire appears to sing under the direction of human arms symbolizing the United States and Japan. The video continues with the monkey being called "stupid," after which it holds up a piece of paper labeled "South China Sea Arbitral Award." Shortly afterward, it is thrown into the sea by two arms marked as the United States and Japan, and then is bombarded by a water cannon coming from what appears to be a Chinese coast guard vessel. The video's caption stated, "Philippine politicians are clinging to external forces and causing problems in the South China Sea, thereby reducing their country to a pawn in the geopolitical games of other nations."

The AI video was posted on July 10, the same day the Philippines held a commemorative event marking the 10th anniversary of the arbitral tribunal's ruling on the South China Sea territorial dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs strongly protested, calling the AI video "racist and profoundly insulting," adding, "It is offensive and unacceptable." The department demanded the deletion of such irresponsible content and called on China to uphold dignity and respect in the public arena.

Gilberto Teodoro, the Philippine Secretary of National Defense, criticized the video as "despicable propaganda" and described it as a "disgrace for a country that claims to be a responsible regional leader." He further emphasized, "This shows that, having failed to defend its claims with reason, evidence, and international law, the Chinese government is resorting to racism, threats, and manufactured hatred. The video ridicules the legitimate 2016 arbitral ruling and glorifies violence against the Filipino people and military, starkly exposing the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China’s propaganda apparatus."

However, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the video does not represent the country’s official position and declined further comment. As of today, the video has been deleted from the China Daily Facebook account.

Meanwhile, China has long asserted its claim over most of the South China Sea by drawing a U-shaped "nine-dash line," while the Philippines filed suit with the PCA in 2013, alleging that China’s actions violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and effectively won the case in 2016. To this day, however, China continues to dismiss the ruling and remains in conflict not only with the Philippines, but also with Vietnam, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian nations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.