South China Sea Photo: VCG

TheMKS sports Philippines has recently released a comic book aimed at promoting anti-China sentiment, particularly targeting young students through a manipulative, brainwashing approach. A Chinese expert on Sunday criticized the launch, describing it as a counterproductive move that will not help resolve South China Sea disputes and will ultimately harm long-term bilateral relations.

The Philippine coast guard and national security officials on Friday launched the 40-page comic book called "The Stories of Teacher Jun." It contains colorful caricatures of a Filipino teacher and his young students discussing the complex territorial disputes in simple terms and highlights the Philippine position, AP reported.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara was also present at the Friday book release event, media reported.

In the book, Teacher Jun, a character which AFP said resembles Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, teaches his students about "maritime zones, international laws and the need to safeguard Philippine marine resources."

Global Times found in the digital version copy of the book that China is repeatedly mentioned throughout the book, with expressions such as "the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia continually harass Filipino fishermen and our government vessels" and "China holds misconceptions about the West Philippine Sea" frequently appearing.

The AP reported that the intended recipients are young students and Filipinos in far-flung regions with limited access to news sources. Foreign readers who show an interest could be provided with copies of the book in their language, officials said.

Manila hopes to distribute the book in English and Filipino versions across the country to reinforce the "awakened patriotism of Filipinos," AFP reported.

The publication of the comic book may spark a new wave of public discourse, with the Philippines possibly further promoting its claims over the South China Sea to the international community, Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times. 

This could intensify international attention and lead to diplomatic and public opinion tensions between China and the Philippines, but provides little help in resolve the problem in reality. In the long run, such approach can be seen as a form of cognitive warfare, particularly targeting the younger generation, through which the government is conveying a message to the international community while simultaneously engaging in brainwashing-style education for its own citizens, Chen said. 

Both sides should be able to resolve their disputes through dialogue, but the Philippines is using the comic book to promote its claims over the South China Sea to the public with the intent of fostering a "China was to blame" mindset among the public, Chen said. 

This could influence the future flexibility of the Philippine government's decision-making in the future, Chen said.

According to AP news, about 11,000 copies of the comic book have been distributed for free, and thousands more will be printed depending on financial donations, said Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, one of the proponents of the book project.

Apart from publishing a comic book targeting China in the South China Sea, Philippine authorities said they have arrested a Chinese citizen suspected of conducting an "espionage" operation in the Philippines. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines stated on Sunday that the so-called espionage is a baseless speculation and accusation, adding that it has expressed concerns to the Philippine side and requested a consular visit to the Chinese citizen.

"We urge the Philippine side to base its judgment on facts, not to make presumption of guilt, and stop airing groundless speculation about the so-called Chinese spy case," the Chinese embassy spokesperson said.

Chen said the Philippines stepped up coordination between the coast guard, national defense, foreign affairs and educations authorities since the beginning of 2024 to enhance the propaganda among the public, especially young people, over the Philippines' territorial claims in the South China Sea and its so-called basis to support the claims.

Chen said a comic book like that fails to contribute constructively to resolving issues in the South China Sea and is detrimental to China-Philippines relations in the long run.