(UPDATE) EIGHT out of 10 Filipinos believe that the Marcos Jr. administration should work with the United States amid continuing tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), a Pulse Asia survey showed.
The Stratbase Institute, which commissioned the poll, released the survey results on Tuesday during a forum entitled "Fortifying Cyber Cooperation Towards Digital Security," which it also organized.
The international think tank said that 79 percent of Filipinos said they wanted the Marcos government to work with the US, while almost half of the respondents said the country should partner with Australia (43 percent) and Japan (42 percent).
At least 52 percent of the respondents wanted the government to establish a stronger military presence in the WPS by repairing the beached and rusting BRP Sierra Madre and conducting regular resupply missions, as well as ensuring control of the Ayungin Shoal.
The survey, conducted from Dec. 3 to 7, 2023, polled 1,200 respondents nationwide. Stratbase President Professor Dindo Manhit said that only one out of 10 Filipinos, or 10 percent, favored working with China.
He said the survey results showed the need for the Marcos administration to bolster its alliance and partnerships with like-minded states like the US, Australia and Japan.
"These countries have continued to voice their support for the Philippine position and have condemned Chinese actions against Filipino vessels. Their resounding statements of support boost the confidence of the Philippines in the international community," he said.
"As evidenced by the survey results, 90 percent of Filipinos are not in favor of working with China. This is only natural, as the Philippines continue to encounter aggressive and coercive acts in the West Philippine Sea," he said.
In addition to diplomatic protests, the Philippines is "also exiting" from China's Belt and Road Initiative, Manhit said.
The same survey showed that 55 percent of Filipinos believed that the Marcos administration could fulfill its promise of protecting the WPS against the illegal and aggressive actions of other states.
It showed that 67 percent of Filipinos believed there was a need to strengthen the external defense capability of the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Coast Guard through the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.
Fifty-five percent of those polled believed there was a need to reinforce Philippine alliances and partnerships with like-minded countries through the conduct of joint patrols and military exercises and improve interagency cooperation among agencies involved in maritime security.
Meanwhile, a survey held by OCTA Research showed that six out of 10 Filipinos agreed with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s response to address the territorial disputes between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.
In its fourth quarter Tugon ng Masa Survey conducted last December 10-14, 61 percent of those polled said that they agree with the government's response to the dispute, higher by 3 percentage points than the 58 percent recorded in the third quarter survey.
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