MANILA, Philippines — A survey commissioned by Stratbase ADR Institute showed that 84% of Filipinos want the country to work with the United States in defending its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
The same survey also showed that 80% or four out of five Filipinos believe that the current administration should focus on improving the country’s military capabilities, on top of conducting joint maritime patrols and military exercises with allied countries.
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“Working with friends, allies and partners as a strategy allows the Philippines to practice an independent foreign policy based on the public’s interests,” Stratbase President Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit said during a hybrid forum organized by the think-tank and the US Embassy in Manila on Thursday.
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The survey was conducted from November 27 to December 1, 2022, polling a randomly-selected 1,200 pool. Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes noted that the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Thailand, and US Vice President Kamala Harris’ quick stop to the Philippines in November may have impacted public opinion during their survey.
Results also showed that respondents also want the Philippines to work with Japan (52%), Australia (25%), the United Kingdom (24%), South Korea (23%) and the European Union (20%) to secure the West Philippine Sea.
Meanwhile, 20% also want the Philippines to work with China to resolve maritime issues.
READ: Philippines, China vow 'friendly' handling of maritime spats
The Philippines has claims over the West Philippine Sea, backed by the 2016 Hague ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash claims over the waters. However, Beijing has continuously ignored this.
Washington’s ‘ironclad’ commitment
Since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assumed office in 2022, US President Joe Biden has expressed that he wanted to build closer ties with its oldest treaty ally despite “rocky times.”
The Philippines has hosted a number of high-ranking White House officials last year, starting with the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in August, and US Vice President Kamala Harris stopping over in Manila and Palawan after the APEC Summit in November.
READ: With fences mended, Philippines and US plan dialogue on security alliance
In the Pulse Asia survey, 10% of the respondents want the country to “fully implement” the Visiting Forces Agreement or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement it has with Washington, aside from improving military and maritime strategy.
Meanwhile, nine percent want the ASEAN to finalize the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
READ: DFA: South China Sea Code of Conduct ‘very far’ from conclusion
Blinken, during his visit in 2022, reaffirmed the US’ ironclad commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.
The US has also repeatedly made statements backing the Philippines in defending its sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, with Harris emphasizing the need for international rules-based order and the importance of the 2016 arbitral ruling.
Still not as urgent
While respondents recognized that defending the nation’s seas is an important aspect of protecting the Philippines’ marine resources and coastal communities, they view it as not as urgent as the country’s economic woes.
Out of the 16 “most urgent national concerns” Pulse Asia identified, “defending the integrity of the Philippine territory against foreigners” ranked 15th with only 3% of survey respondents saying it is of immediate concern.
Ranking at the top of the list were primarily economic issues such as inflation, calling for the increased pay of workers, creating more jobs, reducing the poverty of many Filipinos, and cutting down graft and corruption within the government.
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“Across the years, we’ve also tracked this and we note that the concern for the defense of the integrity of the Philippine territory against foreigners has always been less than the other primary concerns that you find at the top of the list tier,” Holmes said.
This only changes if the government shows its constituents how important it is to defend the country’s sovereignty, he added.