Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, on Thursday denounced a video released by China Daily, describing it as “outright racism” and an “open mockery of international law” for depicting Filipinos as “monkeys“ and ridiculing the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award.

The AI-generated animated video, posted by China Daily, a state-controlled media company, portrays the Philippines as a powerless monkey wearing a Barong Tagalog and a traditional Filipino hat aboard a wooden boat. In the video, the monkey is manipulated by two giant hands labeled as the United States and Japan and is instructed to sing lyrics criticizing China over the West Philippine Sea dispute.

When the monkey sings, “We attempt to bypass China and initiate the so-called maritime delimitation talks,” a background voice interrupts, saying, “Wrong song, stupid monkey. We gave you the other lyrics.” The monkey is then handed a sheet of paper labeled “South China Sea Arbitration” before being thrown into the sea and struck by a simulated water cannon.

The video also belittles the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, portraying it as a mere script prepared by the United States and Japan.

Tarriela criticized China for releasing the video while continuing what he described as actions that undermine the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

“This is outright racism and an open mockery of international law—portraying the Philippines as a monkey and dismissing the Arbitral Award as nothing more than a script written by the US and Japan,” Tarriela said in a statement.

“Hindi ba’t nakakagalit na ang mismong bansang gumigipit sa ating mga karapatan sa West Philippine Sea ang siya pang may lakas ng loob na gumawa ng video na naglalarawan sa mga Pilipino bilang mga unggoy na basta na lamang sumusunod sa Japan at Estados Unidos?” he said in another post.

He added that the video insulted not only the Philippines’ legal position but also the dignity of the Filipino people.

Tarriela also recalled that the Chinese Embassy in Manila had previously lodged a diplomatic protest against him after he shared caricatures of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At the time, several Filipino lawmakers urged him to apologize to Beijing, a move he rejected.

“Isang caricature lang ay iniyakan na nila — nagfile pa ng diplomatic protest dahil binastos ko raw ang kanilang lider. Ngunit dito, sa video na ito na mahigit isang minuto, ang binabastos at minamaliit ay ang ating pagka-PILIPINO mismo!,” he said.

The PCG spokesperson likewise challenged those who had earlier called on him to apologize to China, asking whether they would now demand an apology from Beijing.

“Naaalala ko tuloy ang ilang senador na nagsabing kailangan ko raw humingi ng tawad sa China. Ngayon kaya, sasabihin din ba nilang ang China naman ang dapat humingi ng tawad — dahil tayong mga Pilipino mismo ang binababoy ng video na ito?” he said.

Tarriela stressed that Filipinos should not tolerate such portrayals, saying respect for international law distinguishes responsible nations.

“Mga kababayang Pilipino hindi po tayo UNGGOY, at huwag tayong pumayag na gawing UNGGOY! Ang mga hayop lamang ang mga nakakagawa ng ganitong pagturing sa kapwa tao at mas masahol pa sa hayop ang hindi marunong sumunod sa international law!” he said.

In a separate post, Tarriela reiterated his condemnation of the video, saying, “Racism has no place in this day and age—and racism meant to belittle another race deserves nothing but condemnation. Filipinos are not monkeys!”