Philippines condemns monkey video on Chinese media as racist
The Philippines has officially condemned a Chinese state media video that uses AI-generated imagery to depict the Philippines as a monkey. The video, which portrays the country being manipulated by the US and Japan, has been labeled as racist and dehumanizing by Philippine officials.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the escalating diplomatic tensions and propaganda warfare between Manila and Beijing regarding territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, At the centre of tensions between Manila and Beijing are the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal
The Philippines has condemned the "dehumanising and racist" portrayal of the country as a timid monkey strong-armed by the US and Japan to take Beijing on over the South China Sea .
Last week, China Daily posted an AI-generated video featuring a monkey in a Filipino shirt. It screams as arms bearing the Japanese and US flags shove it onto a rickety karaoke stage set up in a boat.
After it gets scolded for singing the wrong song, it pulls out a sheet reading "South China Sea arbitration award". It is then flung into the sea and blasted by a water cannon.
Tense stand-offs and occasional violent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed waters have grown in recent years.
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