Teodoro Slams China Over Baton Attack on PH Navy, 'Monkey' Video

In a recent ANC 24/7 Headstart Recap, Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. laid out the Philippines' position on two alarming developments that have shaken the nation this month — the violent baton attack on a Philippine Navy sailor by China Coast Guard personnel at Ayungin Shoal, and the racist AI-generated "monkey" video from state-run China Daily that has sparked outrage across the country.

Both incidents, occurring within days of each other, have laid bare the deteriorating state of Philippine-China relations and raised urgent questions about what comes next for Filipino sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

China's Harassment Intensifies: A Nation on Edge

Manila, Philippines — Two separate but deeply connected incidents have pushed Philippine-China tensions to their highest point in years, with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. delivering a pointed rebuke of Beijing's escalating aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Baton Attack at Ayungin: A Sailor Injured, A Nation Outraged

On July 20, a Philippine Navy service member was struck on the head with a wooden baton by China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel during a confrontation near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre — the Philippines' decades-old naval outpost — sits as a symbol of Philippine sovereignty. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed the attack in a statement, describing CCG personnel as acting "violently and aggressively" against the Filipino sailor.

The incident left the Navy personnel injured and a Philippine rubber boat damaged. The AFP confirmed the wounded sailor received immediate medical attention. The National Security Council swiftly condemned the actions as "violent and unlawful," while the Department of National Defense (DND) released a statement that read in part: "As we continue to monitor and prepare measures to meet this aggression, the Department of National Defense salutes the defenders of BRP Sierra Madre and our western frontier. We will not back down."

This was not an isolated incident. In June 2024, Chinese law enforcement personnel armed with knives, sticks, and an axe attacked Filipino troops attempting to resupply the garrison on Ayungin. The pattern is unmistakable — an incremental but relentless campaign of harassment designed to test the Philippines' resolve and stretch its naval resources thin.

The "Monkey" Video: Racism as State Propaganda

Just days earlier, on July 10, China Daily — a state-run Chinese media outlet that describes itself as the "voice of China" — posted a 58-second AI-generated video on its Facebook page that depicted Filipinos as monkeys under US and Japanese control. The video showed a timid monkey wearing a barong, the traditional Filipino shirt, being catapulted toward a China Coast Guard water cannon after attempting to sing the wrong song. The monkey held a lyrics sheet labeled "South China Sea Arbitration Award."

The video was released to mock the 10th anniversary of the July 12, 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which upheld the Philippines' maritime rights against China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea. Beijing has consistently refused to recognize the ruling.

Defense Secretary Teodoro was among the first Filipino officials to publicly condemn the video, calling it "a revealing insight into what the Chinese communist apparatus thinks of the Filipino people." In a statement, he described the video as exposing "the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of China's propaganda machine."

Philippine Officials Unite in Condemnation

The response from across the Philippine government was swift and unified. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lodged a diplomatic protest against the video and related editorial cartoons, calling them "racist, dehumanizing and demeaning" depictions of Filipinos and demanding they be taken down. Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. condemned the propaganda video in strong terms. "There is no place for racism or the dehumanization of any nation or people, especially in responsible public discourse," Abalos said. "As a Filipino, I take deep offense at any attempt to belittle our people through offensive and degrading imagery."

In the Senate, the response was equally forceful. Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed "deep indignation" over what she called China's "dangerous propaganda." She demanded a public apology from Beijing. "We completely and unequivocally reject China's racist propaganda," Hontiveros said. "We Filipinos should never be caricatured and stripped of our humanity because of our nationality."

Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson delivered a pointed critique: "If China considers Filipinos as monkeys, then what does that say about its character?" Lacson noted that China's aggressive actions against Filipino vessels have only reinforced international support for the Philippines' position in the South China Sea dispute.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela rejected the racism embedded in the video, declaring: "I will never accept that my race is likened to monkeys — nor will I accept that future generations of our country be labeled as such. Filipinos are not monkeys." The National Maritime Council (NMC) said the video would not change the Philippines' legal rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Beijing's Distance and Teodoro's Skepticism

When pressed on the video during a July 18 press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian distanced the Chinese government from the propaganda, stating: "About the video you mentioned, this is not an act of the government. I have no comment on that." He repeated Beijing's longstanding refusal to recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling.

But Defense Secretary Teodoro was having none of it. Speaking on the sidelines of the Ilokano Dialogue on the West Philippine Sea in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Teodoro rejected the Chinese government's attempt to distance itself. "China Daily is state-sponsored, and nothing comes out of China without their government's permission," he told reporters. "At the defense department, we won't just take it at face value."

Teodoro's skepticism is well-founded. China Daily is one of the major media groups that are state-owned and directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders. The idea that such a video could be published without approval strains credibility — a point Teodoro made explicitly.

What This Means for Ordinary Filipinos

For the average Filipino — the jeepney driver in Manila, the sari-sari store owner in Quezon City, the farmer in Nueva Ecija, the OFW in Hong Kong — these incidents may feel distant. But the implications hit close to home. The West Philippine Sea is not just a geopolitical abstraction; it is the source of livelihood for thousands of Filipino fishermen, a critical shipping lane for the goods that fill Philippine markets, and a potential source of energy resources that could lower electricity bills for every Filipino household.

Every act of Chinese aggression at Ayungin Shoal, every racist video from state media, every diplomatic protest lodged by the DFA — these are chapters in a story that determines whether Filipino fishermen can go to sea without fear, whether the next generation inherits a nation that stood its ground, and whether the rule of law prevails over the law of the stronger. The 2016 arbitral ruling was supposed to settle this. Ten years later, the ruling remains unimplemented, and the harassment continues.

For the families of the Navy personnel stationed at BRP Sierra Madre — many of whom are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters from provinces across the archipelago — every confrontation brings sleepless nights. The sailor struck with a baton on July 20 could be someone's anak, someone's asawa, someone's tatay. Their sacrifice is the human cost of defending Philippine sovereignty.

What to Watch For

The DFA's diplomatic protest is a first step, but further action is expected. Several senators have called for a Senate inquiry into the escalating Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea. The Department of National Defense is reportedly reviewing measures to strengthen the Philippines' defensive posture at Ayungin Shoal and other critical locations. The DND's statement — "We will not back down" — signals that the Philippines is preparing for a longer, more difficult standoff.

The Marcos administration now faces a critical test: how to respond to aggression without triggering a broader conflict that the Philippines, with its limited naval resources, cannot win. Diplomatic channels, multilateral pressure through ASEAN and the United Nations, and strengthening the Armed Forces of the Philippines will likely form the pillars of the response.

The China Daily video, for all its offensiveness, has served one unintended purpose: it has united Filipinos across political divides in condemnation of racism and aggression. From senators like Hontiveros and Lacson to Cabinet members like Abalos, the message is clear — the Filipino people will not be demeaned, and they will not be intimidated.

As Defense Secretary Teodoro put it, the video reveals what the Chinese Communist Party truly thinks of Filipinos. The question now is what the Philippines does with that knowledge — and how it defends its sovereignty in the face of an adversary that has shown both its aggression and its contempt.

By Bella Reyes, Staff Writer