Manila protests ‘racist’ portrayal of Filipinos in China Daily videos
The Philippines has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with China over videos published by state-backed China Daily that depicted Filipinos as monkeys. The protest centers on what Manila called racist and dehumanizing content, amid ongoing South China Sea sovereignty disputes between the two nations.
A diplomatic row has emerged between the Philippines and China following the publication of videos by China Daily, the state-backed English-language newspaper. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs characterized the video content as racist depictions that crossed beyond political discourse into demeaning and dehumanizing territory. Officials raised the matter directly with China's ambassador and submitted a formal diplomatic protest.
The Philippines' embassy in Beijing issued a separate open letter to China Daily's editor, accusing the publication of breaching editorial standards and calling for greater respect for dignity and truth in public discourse. China Daily, which describes itself as China's most-read English-language newspaper with a claimed audience exceeding 470 million people, published the videos as part of a series commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award.
The underlying tension stems from the 2016 international tribunal ruling that favored the Philippines and invalidated China's broad territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has rejected this decision and maintains its sovereignty assertions over the disputed region, which includes the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. The area contains an estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.
Recent years have witnessed escalating confrontations between Chinese coastguard vessels and Philippine ships, involving collisions and water cannon deployments that Manila contends have endangered personnel and fishermen. The Philippines has secured diplomatic support from the United States, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, which have collectively reaffirmed the tribunal's binding authority and cautioned against unilateral actions that could destabilize the region. As of publication, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China Daily had not issued public responses to the Philippine protest.
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