PH media slam Chinese foreign ministry’s claims of manipulating WPS reports 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. REUTERS

Philippine media groups criticized the Chinese foreign ministry for suggesting that recent reports on Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea involved video manipulation and sensationalism to portray the Philippines as a victim.

The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed offense at the accusation, calling it an insult to the independence and integrity of journalists covering Philippine maritime missions in the area and incidents involving Chinese vessels.

READ: China’s claim on journos manipulating WPS videos a ‘barefaced lie’—Focap

They were referring to statements made by the foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying and the Chinese Embassy in Manila that journalists, under government orders, “manipulate the videos they recorded” in the disputed waters to “project the Philippines as a victim.”

Footage vetted

“Focap takes deep offense at the insinuation that the press is a ‘troublemaker’ and in cahoots with the government to forward a political agenda,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

“China’s claim that the Philippines had journalists manipulate their footage is a barefaced lie,” said Focap, which had some of its members embedded in the Philippine maritime missions.

“A free and independent press reports not what they are told but what they observe, framed by historical and political context. The footage seen in the press is vetted by multiple sources and newsrooms,” said Focap, an organization founded in 1974 and includes both Filipino and foreign journalists as members.

“The statements by the (Chinese) foreign ministry spokesman and embassy are an insult to the integrity of journalists and an alarming attempt to muzzle an independent press,” it said. “Focap will not be intimidated by threats and groundless attempts to smear its members’ reputation. We will continue to courageously cover developments and the impact of events in the South China Sea and across the region.”

“The media is not a party to the dispute and should not be demonized by parties for airing contending views on the issue and unflattering reports on incidents in the West Philippine Sea,” NUJP said.

‘Who’s troublemaker?’

“Except for operational and national security considerations, state forces have no say in the production and editorial decisions on these reports,” said NUJP in a statement of its own on Wednesday,’’ the media union added.

The assailed statements were shared by the Chinese Embassy on its social media account on Tuesday.

One statement attributed to the Chinese foreign ministry read: “Who is the troublemaker? Each time the Philippines delivered supplies to the grounded warship, they had many journalists on board, and had them manipulate the videos they recorded to make sensational news and project the Philippines as a victim.”

In another statement, the ministry said the Philippine government had “promised to tow away ASAP the warship it grounded at Ren’ai Jiao in 1999 but has never honored its word.”

It was referring to the BRP Sierra Madre which now serves as a Philippine military outpost at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.