Philippine Coast Guard condemns ‘racism’ in Chinese maritime dispute video
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A ship identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as a Chinese research vessel is seen towing a floating structure.
PHOTO: AFP
- The Philippine Coast Guard condemned a racist video by Chinese state media portraying Filipinos as monkeys.
- The video depicts a Filipino monkey character manipulated by the US and Japan, reflecting tensions over maritime claims.
- The Philippines, supported by 13 countries, insists on the 2016 Hague ruling’s legality, while China rejects it and has taken retaliatory diplomatic actions.
AI generated
MANILA – The Philippines on July 16 slammed as racist a video posted by Chinese state media portraying the country as a cartoon monkey forced by its US and Japanese masters to defend its South China Sea claims.
China claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and has frequently clashed with Philippine vessels in the area.
In the minute-long video, posted to the China Daily Facebook page, a timid monkey wearing a traditional Filipino shirt known as a barong is shoved onto a karaoke stage on a boat.
When it begins singing lyrics that seem to agree with China’s position on recent maritime delimitation talks between Manila and Tokyo, a voice shouts “wrong song!” and hands it a sheet labelled “South China Sea Arbitration Award”.
Arms bearing US and Japanese flags then put the monkey in a catapult and send it flying into a water cannon, a tool previously employed by the Chinese coast guard in encounters with Filipino sailors and fishermen.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Rear-Admiral Jay Tarriela blasted the cartoon as racist, sharing it on social media platform X on July 16 to condemn its “outright racism”.
“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 in a post.
“I don’t think there is any other justifiable reason to come up with this AI video to portray Filipinos as monkeys,” Tarriela told Agence France-Presse separately.
Calls to the Chinese embassy in Manila were not immediately returned.
On July 12, the 10th anniversary of the Hague arbitration ruling in its favour, the Philippines issued a joint statement signed by 13 other countries, including Japan and the United States, that called the ruling legally binding.
Beijing has repeatedly said the 2016 ruling is invalid and labelled the weekend statement a “distortion of the facts” aimed at vilifying China.
In June, Beijing sanctioned Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro after he criticised China’s activities in the South China Sea, barring him from visiting China’s mainland, Hong Kong or Macau.
In January, China filed a diplomatic protest after Tarriela, the coast guard spokesman, posted a photo of himself giving a speech with a compilation of comical images of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the background. AFP