Philippines Formally Protests China Daily 'Monkey' Video Depicting Filipinos as Racist Caricature

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs formally protested an AI-generated video and accompanying editorial cartoons posted by state-run China Daily on its Facebook account on July 10, 2026, which depicted a monkey dressed in Filipino barong Tagalog and salakot being directed by arms representing the United States and Japan before being blasted into the sea by a China Coast Guard water cannon. The video was released around the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award and was widely condemned in Manila as racist and dehumanizing. The DFA said, "We draw a firm line at the depiction of Filipinos as monkeys in the 10 July 2026 video, which is deeply offensive." Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the video "reveals the weakness of a government that resorts to racism, threats and manufactured hatred," while Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said "racism has no place in society in this day and age." The Philippine Embassy in Beijing sent a formal letter demanding removal of the material to China Daily's editor-in-chief. China has refused to apologize, dismissing the footage as independent of government policy while renewing its criticism of Manila's maritime claims.