OCTA: PATROLS AND TROOPS, DIPLOMACY TOP FILIPINO PRIORITIES ON WPS
Expanded naval patrols and troop presence, and diplomacy topped the steps that Filipinos believe the Marcos administration should prioritize in dealing with issues about the West Philippine Sea.
According to OCTA Research's Tugon ng Masa survey for the first quarter of 2024, 73% of respondents said military action should be given priority when responding to incursions into the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
Seventy-two percent answered asserting the Philippines' territorial rights "through diplomacy and other peaceful means."
OCTA Research conducted the survey nationwide and across economic socio-economic classes from March 11 to 14 among 1,200 respondents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three.
The respondents were asked the question, "What measures should the Marcos administration prioritize to effectively address the issues related to the conflict in the West Philippine Sea? What is the first measure that the current administration should do? Which is second? Third?"
The choice, "To modernize and strengthen the Philippine military's capability to protect the country's territories," received 68%.
Other choices in the poll were:
- Conduct joint maritime patrol and exercises with ally countries, 43%;
- Expand diplomatic efforts with the countries within and outside of the region to reduce tension in the area, 32%;
- Shelving disputes for joint economic development of the area, 12%; and
- Don't know/ refused to answer, 0%.
OCTA said the percentage of adult Filipinos who preferred asserting the Philippines’ territorial rights through military action, "defined as expanded naval patrols and troop presence in the West Philippine Sea," increased by one percentage point since December 2023, from 72% to 73.
The percentage of adult Filipinos who prefer asserting the Philippines’ territorial rights through diplomacy and other peaceful methods for the conflict in the West Philippine Sea increased by two percentage points since December 2023 to 72%.
"There has been an increase in the percentage of adult Filipinos in Visayas who prefer modernizing and strengthening the Philippine military’s capability to protect the country’s territories as a solution to West Philippine Sea disputes by two percentage points since December 2023," OCTA added.
"There is a notable decrease in NCR by 11 percentage points," it said.
China lays claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, including territories in the West Philippine Sea, or the sea within the Philippines' EEZ. Its actions in the area include building on disputed territories, destroying corals, and challenging Philippine vessels.
Last week, vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard trained their water cannons on a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) boat traveling to Bajo de Masinloc, causing damage to the ships and hitting the Philippine national flag.
Other nations have declared their concern over the incident. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the country will not retaliate with its own water cannons, but asserted the Philippines' sovereign rights in the sea.
The Philippine military is currently conducting its annual Balikatan exercises alongside US troops, activities closely monitored by China. —NB/BM, GMA Integrated News
This article OCTA: Patrols and troops, diplomacy top Filipino priorities on WPS was originally published in GMA News Online.
2024-05-07T19:02:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd