China’s foreign ministry on Friday said that a viral video published by state-run media outlet China Daily, which depicted Filipinos as monkeys, was “not an act of the Chinese government,” while reiterating Beijing’s rejection of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling.

“About the video you mentioned, this is not an act of the government,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during his regular press briefing.

“I have no comment on that,” he added.

Despite distancing the government from the video, Lin repeated China’s long-standing position that it does not recognize the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling.

“China’s position on the issue of ‘South China Sea arbitration’ is clear and consistent. The ‘arbitration’ is a political farce masqueraded as a legal process,” Lin said.

“The so-called ‘award’ is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force,” he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier called on China Daily to remove the video and urged the publication to refrain from releasing similar content.

The agency also filed a diplomatic protest over China Daily’s “dehumanizing and racist” AI-generated video and accompanying editorial cartoons, which it described as “offensive and inappropriate. “

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague issued the landmark ruling on July 12, 2016, which invalidated China’s expansive claims over much of the South China Sea based on its so-called nine-dash line.

China has repeatedly rejected the decision, while the Philippines continues to invoke the ruling as the legal foundation for asserting its maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.