A diplomatic row between Manila and Beijing deepened on Saturday as more Philippine officials demanded a public apology from China over an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video released by state-run newspaper China Daily depicting Filipinos as monkeys, calling it a racist attack that has no place in relations between sovereign states.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier lodged a diplomatic protest against the 10 July video, which used AI-generated animation to ridicule the Philippines and the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea.

The video portrayed a monkey dressed in a Barong Tagalog and salakot, imagery that Philippine officials said crossed the line from political messaging into racial discrimination.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on the Chinese government to issue a public apology, saying the video violated the basic standards of respect that should govern relations between nations.

"We completely and unequivocally reject China's racist propaganda. We Filipinos should never be caricatured and stripped of our humanity because of our nationality," Hontiveros said in a statement.

She described the video as "appalling and beneath the dignity of any State" and said it falsely portrayed the Philippines' assertion of its sovereign rights as an act of colonial subservience.

"The Chinese government owes the Filipino people a public apology," she said. "Until then, this utterly racist act will stand as a violation of the most basic standards of respect that should govern relations between nations."

Hontiveros also urged Malacañang to summon Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan to convey the Philippines' "deep indignation" over the publication and called on the international community to denounce what she described as dangerous propaganda.

Sen. JV Ejercito likewise condemned the AI-generated video, saying its reliance on racial stereotypes reflected China's inability to defend its maritime claims on their merits.

"While it is deeply offensive, resorting to racism by portraying a monkey dressed in Philippine national attire — a Barong Tagalog and salakot — only reveals their inability to defend their claims based on merits," Ejercito said.

He described the production as "AI slop" intended to provoke outrage and spread misinformation rather than encourage informed discussion.

"This kind of content only fuels prejudice, distorts facts, and deepens division," he said, adding that China should "accept reality and move on" because the 2016 arbitral award is "final and binding."

Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. also backed the DFA's diplomatic protest, saying he took "deep offense" at the imagery used in the video.

"There is no place for racism or the dehumanization of any nation or people, especially in responsible public discourse," Abalos said.

"Respect among nations begins with respect for one another's humanity."

The latest statements add to a growing number of Philippine officials denouncing the video.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called it evidence of "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."

Officials from the National Security Council and the Philippine Coast Guard have likewise condemned the publication, describing it as offensive and inconsistent with the conduct expected of a responsible member of the international community.

The DFA said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim raised the issue directly with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan during a meeting on 16 July and demanded the video's immediate removal.

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has also sent a formal letter to China Daily Editor-in-Chief Qu Yingpu reiterating Manila's demand that the material be taken down.

The dispute unfolded as the Philippines marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark 12 July arbitral ruling, which invalidated China's sweeping claims in the West Philippine Sea and declared that its so-called nine-dash line has no legal basis under international law.

Beijing has consistently rejected the ruling, while tensions between the Philippines and China have persisted through repeated confrontations between their coast guard vessels and competing assertions of sovereignty in disputed waters.