Poll: 73% of Filipinos agree on assertion of sovereignty vs China

A “SIGNIFICANT majority” (73%) of Filipinos agree that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration should assert the Philippines’ territorial sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, according to a June 15-21 survey by Pulse Asia, commissioned by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute and presented at the latter’s forum on Thursday, July 12.

The forum marked the second-year commemoration of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling at The Hague upholding the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in its maritime dispute with China.

According to the Pulse Asia survey, 46% strongly agreed and 27% somewhat agreed the government should follow through its 2016 victory which dismissed for being legally baseless China’s long- used nine dash line claim.

17% of the respondents polled were undecided while only 7% said they disagreed ( 4% somewhat disagreed and 3% strongly disagreed).

On the position that the Duterte administration should take, 36% said the Philippines should “file a diplomatic protest”; 22% said the Philippines should “strengthen (its) military alliance with other countries such as the United States, Japan, and Australia”; 21% favored continuing “the current action of befriending China to avoid conflict”; 16% believed in “strengthen(ing) the Philippines’ military capability to protect our territories”; and 0.3% favored “declar( ing) war against China.”