Teodoro Slams China Daily Over Racist Post Depicting Filipinos as Monkeys

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has condemned a social media post by Chinese state-run outlet China Daily that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, calling it a racist attack that exposes the "moral and intellectual bankruptcy" of China's propaganda.

In a statement issued on July 16, Teodoro said the post offered "a revealing insight into what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks of the Filipino people," and denounced it as racist propaganda that reflects Beijing's failure to defend its claims in the West Philippine Sea.

The Video in Question

China Daily posted the roughly minute-long, AI-generated video on its Facebook page on July 10, a week ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling. The clip showed a timid monkey dressed in a traditional Filipino barong Tagalog and salakot being shoved onto a karaoke stage on a boat and instructed by characters resembling the United States and Japan, before being sprayed with a water cannon on the high seas while holding the arbitral award.

Reports noted the clip was part of a wider series mocking Manila, which has also included depictions of the Philippines as a "clown" and a "snake." The water-cannon imagery echoes real-world incidents in which the China Coast Guard has repeatedly used high-pressure water cannons against Filipino vessels, causing injuries and damage.

'Moral and Intellectual Bankruptcy'

Teodoro said the content mocked the Philippines' victory in the 2016 arbitral ruling and glorified violence against Filipinos and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). "This mockery of the lawful 2016 Arbitral Award and the video's glorification of violence against the Filipino people and soldiers expose the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine," he said.

"Such contemptible propaganda is a disgrace to any State that claims to exercise responsible regional leadership. It reveals the weakness of a government that resorts to racism, threats, and manufactured hatred because it has utterly failed to defend its ridiculous claims through reason, evidence, or law," he added. The defense chief said the incident justified the Philippines' policy of holding no ministerial or AFP defense engagements or contacts with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or any of its agencies.

Teodoro also criticized what he described as the CCP's "schizophrenic behavior," saying the latest act of dehumanization showed that China is "neither a secure and confident actor nor a trustworthy neighbor." He ended his statement with a warning to Filipinos: "Pilipinas huwag magpalinlang! Ang nalilinlang ay nasisiil" ("Filipinos, do not be deceived! Those who are deceived are oppressed").

DFA and Coast Guard Join Condemnation

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also strongly condemned China Daily's publication of the AI-generated videos and editorial cartoons, demanding a takedown and calling the material racist, dehumanizing, and unacceptable. In a statement issued late on July 16, the DFA said the outlet's conduct "goes beyond legitimate political debate" by employing "blatantly demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist depictions of Filipinos" that "only serve to widen the distrust between the Philippines and China."

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for West Philippine Sea concerns, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, likewise condemned the post. "Racism has no place in this day and age — and racism meant to belittle another race deserves nothing but condemnation. Filipinos are not monkeys!" he said on X, adding separately to AFP that he saw no justifiable reason for producing the AI video.

Backdrop of Rising Tensions

The exchange comes as tensions between Manila and Beijing continue over the West Philippine Sea, where the two sides have repeatedly clashed over territorial claims around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. On July 12, the Philippines marked the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Hague arbitral ruling, which invalidated China's sweeping maritime claims, with a joint statement signed by 13 countries, including the United States and Japan, affirming that the award is legally binding. Beijing, which continues to reject the ruling, called the statement a "distortion of the facts" intended to vilify China.

The controversy also unfolds just weeks before Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to visit Manila for high-level ASEAN meetings.