Phl’s firm, but WPS stance affirmed

The Philippines is inclined to leverage strategic alliances with military powers like the United States while pushing “peaceful and diplomatic solutions” to ease tensions in the West Philippine Sea, which China claims.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año on Thursday said “reinforcing alliances” with likeminded nations will continue to be government policy, especially after a poll showed that Filipinos approved of the thrust.

“We welcome the results of the survey conducted by Pulse Asia, which showed that a significant 79 percent of respondents believe the Philippines should work with the United States and other partners and allies amid the continuing tensions in the West Philippine Sea,” Año said.

“This affirmation not only reinforces the correctness of our position but also highlights the shared commitment to safeguard our nation’s interests in the global arena,” he stressed.

In releasing the survey results it commissioned, Stratbase Institute cited the “urgency to address the situation” in the WPS by “establishing a stronger military presence in the region.”

Aside from the United States, most survey respondents preferred that the Philippines collaborate with Australia and Japan in the West Philippine Sea, which overlaps the South China Sea and is claimed by China.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, in a ruling in 2016, dismissed China’s nine-dash line territorial claim in the SCS.

Dealing Beijing a double blackeye, the court also affirmed that the WPS was part of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

A substantial 67 percent of those surveyed batted to ramp up the Philippines’ external defense capabilities, especially its air, naval and personnel assets.