78% Pinoys see US-Philippine ties more important than China — SWS

MANILA, Philippines — Seven in every 10 Filipinos believe the country’s relationship with the United States is more important than that with China, according to a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The same survey also showed that more than half of Filipinos believe that it is possible for the Philippines to have good relationship with the US and China at the same time.

The poll, conducted from Sept. 27 to 30 with the results released yesterday, revealed that 78 percent of the 1,800 respondents shared the position that the Philippine relationship with the US is more important than one with China.

Only 12 percent said the Philippines’ relationship with China is more important.

Five percent said the country’s relations with the US and China are equally important, while the remaining four percent did not have an answer.

Meanwhile, 52 percent of the respondents said it is possible for the Philippines to have a good relationship with China and the US at the same time. Forty-one percent said it is not possible, while seven percent gave no answer.

Earlier, SWS said fewer Filipinos have much trust in China, with net trust ratings falling from “poor” -24 in June to a “bad” -33 in September.

Trust ratings with the US stayed “excellent,” from +73 in June to +72 in September.

The new survey results noted that the proportion of those who say that the country’s relationship with the US is more important than with China is higher among those who have much trust in the US.

The number of those who consider the Philippines’ relationship with the US to be more important is highest among those in Luzon at 83 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 79 percent, the Visayas at 77 percent and Mindanao at 67 percent.

About half of those polled in all areas say it is possible for the Philippines to have a good relationship with both China and the US at the same time: 53 percent in Mindanao, 52 percent in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and 48 percent in the Visayas. The survey had an error margin of +/-2.3 percent for national percentages.

Despite the worsening perception of China among Filipinos – at least based on surveys – its new top diplomat in Manila sees brighter diplomatic and cultural ties ahead between the two countries.

A statement from the Chinese embassy yesterday quoted Ambassador Huang Xilian as saying he is “ready to make all efforts to work together and further promote high-level exchanges, facilitate practical cooperation and enhance mutual trust and understanding between the two countries.”

“He is convinced that China-Philippines relations are bound to deliver more fruitful outcomes to our two peoples in the years to come,” the embassy said.

At a briefing in Makati last Thursday, Huang expressed hope the ruling Chinese and Philippine political parties – the Communist Party of China and PDP-Laban, could “shoulder great responsibilities to further develop their countries and improve the capacity for governance.”

He stressed the importance of sharing experiences in governance as a way to serve the people better.

Huang talked about the fourth plenary session of the Communist Party of China held in Beijing last October.

He said the session “was of groundbreaking and milestone significance.”

He described the session as “a fruitful meeting that will have a far-reaching influence with its most important outcome, the decision adopted by the CPC Central Committee to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance.”  – With Jess Diaz