Filipinos want military, diplomatic approaches for WPS — survey

MANILA, Philippines — Seven out of 10 Filipinos believe the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should assert the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) through military action and diplomacy, according to a survey by OCTA Research. 

The organization’s first quarter Tugon ng Masa survey found that 73% of 1,200 respondents want the Marcos government to increase naval patrols and troop presence in the WPS.

These findings come amid heightened tensions in the resource-rich waterway due to China’s growing assertiveness in the region.  

According to OCTA, 85% of adult Filipinos in Metro Manila preferred asserting the country’s territorial rights through military action. Visayas had the lowest percentage (70%) of Filipinos who favored this approach. 

It added that those belonging to Class ABC (76%) showed the strongest support for expanded naval patrol and troop presence. 

Filipinos strongly also favored a strategy focused on diplomacy and other peaceful methods (72%) for asserting the Philippines’ territorial rights. 

Seventy-eight percent of adult Filipinos in the capital region favored diplomatic  and other peaceful measures. Luzon had the lowest preference for diplomacy (70%), followed by Mindanao (72%).

Filipinos in Class ABC (78%) demonstrated the strongest preference for diplomacy in the WPS dispute. 

Other measures

The poll also revealed that 68% of Filipinos want the government to prioritize the modernization and strengthening of the Philippine military’s capability to protect the country’s territory. 

This was followed by conducting joint maritime patrol and exercises with ally countries (43%), and expanding diplomatic efforts with nations within and outside the region to reduce tension in the area (32%).

Only 12% believe the Marcos administration should shelve disputes for joint economic development of the area. 

The Philippines has denied this week a claim by China that Manila had agreed on a “new model” to address tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos also rejected a proposal to equip Philippine vessels with water cannons to assert the country’s sovereignty in the waters claimed by China. 

Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea, dismissing claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and an international court ruling that found its assertions to have no legal basis. 

OCTA’s survey was conducted from March 11 to 14 through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults. The poll had a margin of error of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for regional breakdowns.