The President of the Philippines criticized China today following incidents in the South China Sea, emphasizing that Manila will not yield to Beijing regarding these disputed waters.
In his State of the Nation address, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed that his government would continue to uphold the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansionist claims in the disputed South China Sea, adding that Filipinos “do not yield.”
Marcos did not mention China by name or elaborate on his criticisms of Beijing, which were met with enthusiastic applause from many lawmakers.
The criticism follows accusations made last week by the Philippine military that the Chinese coast guard injured a Filipino sailor as he approached an outpost in a disputed area of the South China Sea—an account immediately denied by Beijing.
The incident occurred near a grounded ship that serves as a Philippine outpost in the South China Sea.
“In recent times, our very humanity has been called into question,” the Philippine President said, reminding detractors that “Filipinos are a noble… and great race.”
“We are not greedy. We are not racist. We are not liars,” he added, following an incident in which Manila accused Beijing of racism.
Marcos summoned the Chinese ambassador to Manila, Jing Quan, last week after *China Daily*—a Chinese state-run media outlet—depicted Filipinos as monkeys in an editorial video and cartoons.
The animations focused on Beijing’s rejection of the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favor of the Philippines regarding several disputed areas. The Philippine government vehemently condemned the artificial intelligence-generated images as “racist and dehumanizing” and demanded their removal.
In Beijing, however, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated last week that the video “does not represent the official position” of the Chinese state.
He noted, however, that China regarded the international tribunal’s ruling on the South China Sea as a “political farce disguised as a legal proceeding.”
