The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has strongly condemned the publication of an AI-generated video and editorial cartoons by China's state-controlled media outlet China Daily marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, calling the materials "demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist."
In a statement issued late Thursday, July 16, the DFA denounced the portrayal of Filipinos in the AI-generated content, particularly a video posted on China Daily's Facebook account on July 10.
The video, released ahead of the 10th anniversary of the July 12, 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, depicts a monkey wearing a barong Tagalog and salakot being directed by characters resembling the United States and Japan before being sprayed with a water cannon while holding a copy of the arbitral award.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns China Daily's publication of AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons concerning the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, including the video posted on its Facebook account on 10 July 2026," the DFA said.
The department said the "demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist depictions of Filipinos" only serve to deepen distrust between the Philippines and China.
"The Philippines has consistently rejected false narratives and distortions regarding the Arbitral Award and the Philippines' lawful positions in the South China Sea," the DFA said.
"But we draw a firm line at the depiction of Filipinos as monkeys in the 10 July 2026 video, which is deeply offensive, distressing, and unacceptable," it added.
The DFA stressed that disagreements over legal and political issues do not justify the use of offensive imagery, saying such content has "no place in the civil public discourse of a responsible state."
It also called on China to remove the AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons and to refrain from publishing similar content.
"The Philippines demands that the offensive material be taken down, calls for the immediate cessation of such irresponsible content, and urges China to uphold dignity, respect, and truth in public discourse," the DFA said.
The arbitral ruling issued on July 12, 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea based on its so-called "nine-dash line."
China has consistently rejected the ruling, while the Philippines continues to invoke it as the legal basis for asserting its maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.
