NSC: ‘Racist’ China Daily video can’t erase 2016 arbitral ruling
MANILA, Philippines — National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban Jr. on Friday said an artificially generated video released by a Chinese state media depicting Filipinos as monkeys was an attempt to undermine the Philippines’ 2016 South China Sea arbitral victory, but insisted that “racist caricatures and manufactured narratives cannot erase legal facts.”
Oban condemned the video, saying it was “far from satire” and instead “a calculated attempt to discredit a legal truth that has remained legally intact for a decade.”
“The National Security Council condemns in the strongest terms the AI-generated video released by Chinese state media portraying the Filipino people through racist and dehumanizing imagery while promoting false narratives on the West Philippine Sea,” Oban said in a statement.
READ: Pangilinan demands public apology from China: ‘Racist, demeaning’ video
Oban said the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award remains legally binding and continues to affirm the rule of law in the disputed waters.
The ruling invalidated China’s sweeping “nine-dash line” claim and upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He said Beijing’s refusal to accept the decision had led it to resort to propaganda instead of addressing the tribunal’s findings.
“Ten years later, China’s inability to accept the facts and legal principles of the Arbitral Award has led the party-state to abandon reason in favor of bullying and racist imagery intended to distract from its unlawful actions,” he said.
“When a legal position cannot be sustained before the law, the effort shifts to undermining the law itself, and those who uphold it. Racist caricatures and manufactured narratives cannot erase legal facts. They only expose the absence of a credible legal answer,” he added.
The national security adviser called on Beijing to reject what he described as state-sponsored propaganda targeting Filipinos.
“We call on the People’s Republic of China to reject the use of state-sponsored propaganda that seeks to dehumanize and degrade the dignity of any people,” he said.
He also urged China to “set aside the last refuge of insults” and instead demonstrate “restraint, responsibility, and respect for international law” to help build confidence and foster cooperation in the region.
READ: DFA lodges protest over China video
Oban appealed to Filipinos to see the significance of the arbitral ruling despite the controversy over the video.
“The cartoon is fleeting; the 2016 Arbitral Award endures,” he said. “Let us remain united, confident in the rule of law, and steadfast in protecting our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, and the principles that safeguard all nations.”
The NSC statement came after the Department of Foreign Affairs lodged a formal diplomatic protest against China over the China Daily video and accompanying editorial cartoons, demanding their immediate removal.
The DFA said the materials went beyond legitimate political debate by resorting to “demeaning, dehumanizing, and racist depictions of Filipinos.”
The Department of National Defense and the Philippine Coast Guard have also condemned the video, describing it as racist propaganda targeting the Filipino people.
China Daily and the Chinese Embassy in Manila had yet to publicly respond to the Philippines’ diplomatic protest and the latest statements from Philippine officials as of posting time. /mr
