An AI-generated video published by Chinese state media China Daily has triggered a major diplomatic confrontation with the Philippines, which has condemned the clip as "dehumanizing and racist" and demanded its immediate removal.
The video, posted on China Daily's Facebook page on July 10, features a monkey dressed in a Filipino shirt, screaming as arms bearing Japanese and US flags shove it onto a rickety karaoke stage on a boat. After being scolded for singing the wrong song, the monkey pulls out a sheet reading "South China Sea arbitration award" — a reference to the 2016 international tribunal ruling that rejected China's expansive claims in the disputed waters. The monkey is then flung into the sea and blasted by a water cannon.
Outrage in Manila
The Philippines' foreign ministry issued a strong statement condemning the 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," the ministry said, demanding the clip be removed.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro went further, calling the video "contemptible propaganda" that "exposes the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine." He added: "The recent spate of schizophrenic behavior of the Chinese Communist Party is too clear to disregard or ignore."
Escalating Tensions
The video comes at a particularly tense moment in South China Sea relations. The past week marks a decade since the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, concluding that China's claims had no legal basis — a ruling Beijing has ignored.
In June, Beijing installed a floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal that was removed only after formal Philippine protests. China also barred Teodoro and his immediate family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have routinely used high-pressure water cannons against Philippine supply ships, causing injuries and damage.
A Pattern of AI Propaganda
The monkey clip is one of a series of AI-generated videos and cartoons China Daily has posted on Facebook in recent weeks targeting the Philippines, including depictions of Manila as a clown and a snake. The videos mark an escalation in the use of generative AI as a tool for state-backed disinformation and propaganda in territorial disputes.
At the time of writing, the video remains on China Daily's Facebook page. Chinese authorities have not responded to the Philippines' condemnation.
