Philippines Hits Back at China Over Viral 'Monkey' Video

Sun Sep 06 2026 03:12:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Philippines slams Chinese media for mocking country with AI‑generated monkey video, highlighting rising tensions in the South China Sea.

A Chinese social‑media clip depicting the Philippines as a monkey has sparked a strong rebuke from Manila, calling the image dehumanising and racist. The clip, posted by China Daily, shows the monkey shoving US and Japanese flags, singing the wrong song, and then being blasted by a water cannon. In response, the Philippines' foreign and defence ministries described the video as "contemptible propaganda" and demanded its removal. This incident follows a decade of unresolved legal disputes and increased maritime confrontations between the two nations.

Philippines Hits Back at China Over Viral 'Monkey' Video

Philippines condemns Chinese media for portraying its people as a timid monkey. A China Daily post featuring an AI‑generated monkey wearing a Filipino shirt, being pushed by US and Japanese flags onto a slick karaoke stage, has been called "dehumanising and racist" by Manila.

The clip shows the monkey being scolded for a wrong song, pulling out a sheet titled "South China Sea arbitration award," then being thrown into the sea and blasted by a water cannon.

“Disagreement over legal and political issues does not justify resorting to disturbing imagery,” the foreign ministry said, demanding the clip be removed from social media.

“Such imagery and misinformation only serve to widen distrust between the Philippines and China,” it added.

“The recent spate of schizophrenic behaviour of the Chinese Communist Party is too clear to disregard or ignore,” defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro called the video a "contemptible propaganda" and exposed China’s "moral and intellectual bankruptcy".

The video was posted on 10 July and remains on China Daily’s Facebook page, even two hours after publication.

This clash comes a decade after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague awarded the Philippines the right to challenge China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea—an outcome China continues to reject.

Tensions have escalated in recent years, with China’s Coast Guard using high‑pressure water cannons against Philippine vessels, causing damage and injuries in the disputed shoals.