In the early morning of August 7th, multiple locations in the metropolitan area of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, were found with 5 coffins left by individuals, bearing messages against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of the coffins had a photo of CCP leader Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and CCP Ambassador to the Philippines, “Jiang Quan,” along with the word “greed” written on it. The CCP has reacted strongly to this incident.
According to reports from Reuters, Philippine police found 5 coffins in various locations in the Manila metropolitan area on August 7th, with one of them placed outside the CCP Embassy. These coffins were marked with slogans against the CCP and the CPP, with one containing photos of Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, and Ambassador Jiang Quan.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Manila stated that the 5 coffins appeared in Manila City, Caloocan, Makati, and Quezon City between 2 am and 4 am on that day.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the perpetrators wore masks, travelled in white and gray vans, and abandoned the coffins at different locations before fleeing. The coffins were inscribed with messages against the CPP, NPA (New People’s Army – the armed unit of the CPP), and the CCP, such as “greed” and “disaster.”
DZRH, a Philippine radio station, reported that after receiving the report, the Makati City police informed the bomb squad to inspect the scene and confirmed the absence of explosives before removing the coffins.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs emphasized in a statement that this incident does not reflect the government’s approach to handling foreign relations or the way citizens express dissatisfaction with other countries.
The official CCP has lodged a complaint with the Philippine government regarding this incident. The CCP Embassy in Manila described the coffins as “political provocation.” In a statement, the spokesperson for the CCP Embassy, Ji Lingpeng, mentioned that the coffins aimed to incite hostility between Filipinos and Chinese but would not disrupt the stable relationship between the two countries.
On August 7th, the police initiated an investigation. As reported by “The Philippine Star” on August 9th, a person who witnessed the unloading of a coffin at Welcome Rotonda in San Andres village has voluntarily contacted the police to assist in the investigation.
A video obtained by GMA News shows a woman involved in the incident admitting that this protest is part of their opposition to China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The West Philippine Sea was named by the Philippine government in 2012, indicating the eastern part of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone.
Explaining their position, the woman stated that they belong to a party-list group and a Chinese community, mentioning, “We are just expressing our feelings, there is nothing wrong with that.”
The backdrop of this incident is the strained relationship between Manila and Beijing due to the South China Sea dispute, leading to a heated public opinion battle.
Following a clash at Ren’ai Reef in the South China Sea, Philippine President Marcos met the CCP Ambassador Jiang Quan on July 21st, while the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also met with the Philippine Ambassador to Beijing on the same day.
Prior to this, on July 10th, “China Daily” published an AI-generated video on platforms like Facebook depicting Filipinos as monkeys in barong attire. The Philippine government strongly condemned this on July 16th, demanding the immediate removal of the video. However, the CCP claimed it was a media act and not government-related, stating they could not control all media content, despite being known for tight media control.