Instead, the four-minute video, released last week by the Chinese embassy in Manila to promote China’s efforts to help the Philippines fight the coronavirus, has unleashed widespread anger and derision at China. The video, titled “One Sea,” has resurfaced longtime concerns in Southeast Asia about China’s efforts to expand influence in the region, including in the hotly contested South China Sea.

“The words are nothing but a mirage, full of good images but deceitful,” said one of the most popular comments on Facebook.

The backlash highlights the challenges China faces as it tries to repair its global image amid growing criticism of its early efforts to cover up the coronavirus outbreak, which began in December in the central city of Wuhan. The Chinese government has dispatched medical supplies and experts overseas as it tries to win good will.

But in many places, Beijing still faces skepticism and deep anger.

The music video was supposed to help shore up support. Its lyrics were written by the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian. The video shows Chinese medical teams delivering aid in the Philippines, and it features a clip of the Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, thanking China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, for his support during the crisis.

The video was panned almost immediately, with internet users in the Philippines, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries denouncing it as out of touch.

“No problem with helping one another,” wrote a Facebook user with the name Marjan Nur Salonga Salandanan, “but get out of our seas, please.”

China is itself emerging from the worst of the outbreak, and after more than two months of delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, China’s legislature will finally hold its annual full session starting on May 22, official media announced Wednesday morning.