MANILA – A seemingly comical but perceived by many as a deeply offensive incident has sparked a new wave of anti-China sentiment in the Philippines, highlighting again rising public resentment against President Rodrigo Duterte’s Beijing-friendly policies.

In recent days, the hashtag “province of China” has gone viral on Philippine social media platforms with pictures of Chinese-made beauty products identifying “Manila” as part of mainland China.

The charismatic mayor, widely seen as a potential contender at the next presidential elections in 2022, has shut down at least four establishments in the capital’s Divisoria Mall, which sold a certain “Ashley Shine Keratin Treatment Deep Repair” product.

The beauty product listed its manufacturing address as “707 Sto. Cristo St. San Nicolas, Manila Province, P.R. China. MADE IN P.R.C [People’s Republic of China].”