Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday criticized China Daily’s depiction of Filipinos as monkeys, saying the state-controlled media’s material revealed Beijing’s alleged contempt toward the Filipino people and showed that China is not a trustworthy neighbor.
In a statement, Teodoro said the post was “a revealing insight into what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks of the Filipino people.”
China Daily recently released a one-minute video showing a monkey wearing a barong and native hat while being coached by characters representing Japan and the United States on what to say. The video referenced ongoing discussions between the Philippines and Japan on maritime boundary delimitation, as well as the 2016 Arbitral Award, which invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.
Teodoro said the video’s mockery of the arbitral ruling and what he described as its glorification of violence against Filipinos and soldiers exposed the “moral and intellectual bankruptcy” of China’s propaganda machine.
“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,” Teodoro said.
The Defense chief maintained that the Philippines was justified in limiting defense engagements and contacts with the Chinese Communist Party and its agencies.
“We are justified in our policy of no Ministerial or AFP defense engagements or contacts with the CCP or any of its agencies,” he said.
Teodoro also cited what he described as a recent pattern of “schizophrenic behavior” by China, saying such actions could no longer be ignored.
His remarks came after Chinese scholars claimed that the Batanes Islands are part of China through Taiwan, amid Beijing’s continued claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
“This latest act of dehumanization further reveals them as neither a secure and confident actor nor a trustworthy neighbor,” Teodoro said, referring to the China Daily video.
He ended his statement with a warning to Filipinos: “Pilipinas huwag magpalinlang! Ang nalilinlang ay nasisiil.” (“Filipinos, do not be deceived! The deceived are oppressed.”)