MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) late Thursday, July 16, criticized the Chinese government’s publication of “humiliating, demeaning, and racist images of Filipinos” that “only serve to widen mistrust between the Philippines and China.”
“The Department of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns it China Daily publishing AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons about the 2016 China Sea Arbitration Award, including a video posted on its Facebook account on July 10, 2026. As a Chinese state-run media outlet, China Daily the conduct goes beyond legitimate political debates and uses demeaning, dehumanizing and racist images of Filipinos,” said the DFA.
It added: “The Philippines has repeatedly rejected false and misleading narratives about the Arbitral Award and the legitimate positions of the Philippines in the South China Sea. But we draw a firm line on the portrayal of Filipinos as monkeys in the video of July 10, 2026, which is deeply offensive, sad, and politically unacceptable. An image, which has no place in the public discourse of a responsible government.
July 10 video, released by the government Every day in Chinafeatures an anthropomorphized monkey dressed in traditional Filipino clothing trouble and barong which has a strong arm and two arms clearly labeled “USA” and “Japan.” The monkey, after reading the “wrong text,” is thrown into the sea and hit with water cannons before interacting with a whale that laments the destruction of its environment.
The one-minute video is a compilation of all of Beijing’s usual arguments against the executive order itself and how Manila is trying to implement it. China does not recognize the award, which rejected its supposed historic claims to almost all of the South China Sea, including its 9-dash or 10-dash line. The Arbitral Tribunal also found that China is responsible for environmental damage in its rapid island-building efforts, as well as the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, among other things.
His refusal to accept the award has meant harassment against Philippine vessels, including fishermen aboard smaller wooden vessels offshore.
“Such images and misinformation only serve to increase mistrust between the Philippines and China. The Philippines demands that the offensive material be removed, calls for an immediate halt to such irresponsible content, and calls on China to maintain dignity, respect and truth in public discourse,” the DFA said.
Before the announcement to the media and the public, the DFA had protested China Daily recent posts before Beijing’s ambassador to the Philippines, Jing Quan.
Manila is set to host Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi next week as part of a week-long series of high-level meetings under the auspices of the United Nations for Southeast Asia, which the Philippines is chairing.
In a separate statement, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., under sanctions from Beijing, said the post was racist and Every day in China “it is an insight that reveals what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks about the Filipino people.”
“This mockery of the legitimate 2016 Arbitration Award and video glorification of violence against the people and soldiers of the Philippines exposes the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China’s propaganda machine,” said Teodoro.
“The recent series of schizophrenic behavior of the Chinese Communist Party is too obvious to ignore or ignore. This latest act of dehumanization further demonstrates that it is neither a safe and confident actor nor a trustworthy neighbor,” said the Philippine defense chief, who in late May 2026 warned attendees of China’s Shangri-La Dialogue of not having good faith.
Who is driving Every day in China?
In the 2022 report, Freedom House noted: “Given the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) strong control over domestic media in China, no Beijing-backed content provider is objective or impartial. The party maintains strict oversight of state-owned outlets in China, especially since bureaucratic reforms in 2018 placed them directly under the supervision of its Central Propaganda Department.”
The Freedom House report highlighted state-run entities such as Every day in China, China Global Television Network (CGTN), and Radio China International (CRI).
In the United States, Every day in Chinathe distributor is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In 2020, the US State Department announced that several Chinese state media, including Every day in Chinashall be treated as “foreign missions,” similar to ambassadors and consuls, and would require additional disclosures, including disclosure of its personnel, and ownership and rental of property.
“Given the CCP’s extensive control over domestic media in China, none of the Beijing-backed content providers are objective or impartial. The party maintains strict oversight of state outlets in China, especially since a bureaucratic reform in 2018 placed them directly under the supervision of its Central Propaganda Department,” said Freedom House.
The structure of the CCP is closely intertwined with that of the Chinese government bureaucracy.
Asian Community he says in Frequently Asked Questions about China: “(The CCP) is completely tied to the government system, all important government positions are held by CCP party members, and party leadership positions are always preceded by provincial leaders who are theoretically on the same level. Therefore the existence of a separate Chinese nation from the CCP is only natural, and the term “party-state” is often used to refer to the Chinese government more accurately.”
China claims the South China Sea
Refusing to acknowledge and even ignore the significance of the 2016 Arbitral Award, China has often used the same claim – that it was the US, or now it seems Japan, that was behind Manila’s bold decision to take Beijing to court.
China has also repeatedly tried to paint the Philippines as a polluter in the South China Sea, despite the findings of the 2016 Arbitration Award on its island-building activities and the Philippines’ differing findings on what China’s activities have done to features such as Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).
The video, then, tries to touch several planes – China fighting against the superpower the United States, its anger with Manila and Tokyo’s decision to start talks to discuss the overlap of the exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf in the waters east of Taiwan. China claims those waters in the same way that it claims the sovereign Taiwan, too.
“Such disdainful propaganda is a shame for any State that claims to have responsible regional leadership. It reveals the weakness of a government that resorts to racism, threats, and fabricated hatreds because it has completely failed to defend its ridiculous claims through reason, evidence, or law,” said Teodoro.
He added: “We are right in our policy not to have defense talks of Ministers or the AFP or contact with the CCP or any of its agencies.” Teodoro, early July 2026, recalled the Philippine defenseman to Beijing for what he said was a “restructuring” of publications around the world. – Rappler.com
