A Chinese state media broadcast, claiming to show its coastguard towing a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea, has triggered a fresh diplomatic rift between Beijing and Manila, with Philippine authorities dismissing the footage as “fake news” and accusing China of recycling video from past confrontations to manipulate public opinion.
The controversy has renewed scrutiny of Beijing’s information strategy in one of the world’s most contested maritime regions. Analysts caution that while such tactics may fail to sway Western observers, they could erode trust in the Philippines’ narrative by muddying the waters – complicating efforts to marshal domestic and global support.
The footage in question – a segment from a People’s Liberation Army anniversary documentary aired by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday – appears to show a tense six-minute stand-off at Second Thomas Shoal, known in the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal and in China as Renai Jiao. In the video, a Chinese coastguard vessel is seen towing a smaller craft as shouts are heard in the background.
The video is undated and was published without context, officials in Manila contend. Philippine authorities were quick to repudiate the video’s claims, insisting that no such incident had taken place in recent months. Instead, they suggested that the footage likely depicted the clash that occurred on June 17 last year during a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.
“Obviously this is another form of [dis]information or fake news to weaken our country’s stance in the West Philippine Sea,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine coastguard, using Manila’s name for the section of the South China Sea it claims as its own.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines echoed this warning in a statement, labelling the release of undated videos as “deceptive tactics” designed to “manipulate public perception, distort the truth, and weaken our shared resolve in asserting the nation’s sovereign rights”.
Beijing asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a claim that was rejected by an international arbitration ruling in favour of the Philippines
in 2016. China has
repeatedly dismissed that ruling as illegitimate.
