Philippines slams China's AI monkey video as…

In July 2026, the Philippine government condemned an AI-generated video published by China Daily, characterizing the content as dehumanizing and racist. The video depicts the Philippines as a frightened monkey being manipulated by the United States and Japan during ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Manila’s foreign ministry has formally demanded the removal of the clip, stating that such misinformation undermines civil discourse and exacerbates distrust between the two nations.

What happened

The AI-generated video features a monkey wearing a shirt representing the Philippines, which is forced onto a karaoke stage by figures bearing US and Japanese flags. After being reprimanded for singing the wrong song, the monkey character displays a sheet referencing the South China Sea arbitration award before being thrown into the sea and attacked by a water cannon. This imagery mirrors actual incidents in the South China Sea, where the Chinese Coast Guard has used high-pressure water cannons against Philippine vessels near the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, resulting in damage and injuries.

The release of this content coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which favored the Philippines and invalidated China's expansive maritime claims. Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro labeled the video as contemptible propaganda, arguing that it reflects the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the Chinese state media machine. The incident follows a period of heightening tensions, including the installation of floating barriers at Scarborough Shoal and the imposition of travel restrictions on Philippine defense officials by Beijing. The Philippine foreign ministry emphasized that legal and political disagreements do not justify the use of disturbing imagery in international relations.