Under the continuous propaganda of ** and ** in the Philippines, 1Attitudes of 100 million people toward the South China Sea are changing, with a growing number of voices calling for military means to confront China.
According to data released by the Philippine polling agency OCTA, 72% of the Filipino people currently support** military measures such as sending more troops and strengthening sea patrols to maintain the so-called "Philippine territorial claims in the South China Sea".
According to a previous survey, 65 percent of the respondents supported the use of military means, surpassing a peaceful solution for the first time as the Filipino public's "first choice" on the South China Sea issue.
It is important to note that OTTA conducted a multi-choice survey, and respondents can support multiple countermeasures at the same time. As a result, while many Filipinos support intensified military action, they also prefer other ways to resolve disputes in the South China Sea.
About 70 percent of respondents were in favor of resolving the issue through peaceful means, such as diplomacy. Some 66 percent advocate modernizing the military to enhance its ability to defend Philippine territory. In addition, about 42 percent support strengthening joint maritime patrols and exercises with allies such as the United States and Australia. Only about 14 percent of Filipinos support avoiding confrontation with China in the South China Sea altogether.
At the same time, about 61 percent of Filipino citizens agree with Marcos Jr.'s current strategy in the South China Sea, a slight increase from 58 percent in the last poll. Support for the South China Sea policy has increased in the Philippines.
On the whole, the actual attitude of the Philippine public is to support strengthening military deployment in the South China Sea and continuing to engage with China at Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao to defend the so-called "rights and interests of the Philippines in the South China Sea", but it does not exclude China and the Philippines from resuming negotiations under the framework of China-ASEAN and other frameworks to resolve differences through diplomatic means.
On the contrary, less than half support greater cooperation with countries such as the United States and Australia, reflecting the Philippine public's concern that involvement in the South China Sea could lead to a runaway situation and lead to a confrontation between China and the United States.
It is important to emphasize that although the survey report has just been released, the data collection work of the OTTA was actually completed between December 10 and 14 last year. This timing is quite delicate. On December 9, before the poll began, the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources sent three official ships to the waters off Scarborough Shoal to provoke a provocation, but were expelled by the Chinese coast guard's water cannons.
On the 10th, the Philippine Coast Guard again sent ships to Ren'ai Jiao to prepare to deliver building materials to a broken ship, and Brawner, chief of staff of the Philippine Army, and others also went with the ship. In the process, there was a naval confrontation between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels, and the Philippine transport ship "Kalayaan" suffered an engine failure under the water cannon of the Chinese coast guard and was eventually towed back to the mainland.
These two incidents have sparked a lot of hype about the South China Sea issue in the Philippines and **, aroused the attention of the Philippine public to the South China Sea issue, and to a certain extent, stimulated the radical sentiment of the people, which led to the emergence of such poll results.
The Philippines is naturally willing to see more support for its hardline stance in the South China Sea. Eduardo Arnold, an adviser to the Philippines, said that the current actions on the South China Sea issue are "in line with public opinion", and the Philippines is actively promoting the modernization of the armed forces, increasing naval and air patrols in the South China Sea, and planning to carry out more military exercises with partners such as the United States.
Of course, the Philippines** also noted that 70 percent of respondents also supported a peaceful solution. Arnold assured the public that he would carefully evaluate the results of the polls and formulate policies that are in line with the collective will of the country.
Moreover, the change in the overall poll data does not obscure the ongoing regional divisions within the Philippines on issues such as the South China Sea. The current Philippine policy has a 15 percentage point lower approval rating in Mindanao than in Manila.
It can be seen that at present, it is still the Luzon Island, which is closer to the South China Sea and can benefit more from oil and gas development and fisheries, that is still clearly supportive of maintaining a tough stance on the South China Sea issue. The more pro-Duterte, leaning toward independent Mindanao, has expressed more opposition to the current policy.
This divide of opinion has intensified as the internal struggle between the Duterte and Marcos families has intensified, and the elder Du has threatened to lead Mindanao for independence.
Therefore, while welcoming the poll data, the Philippines** has sent a signal of détente to China through some special moves. Marcos Jr. recently asked his wife to represent him at the Chinese New Year reception in the Philippines and brought his congratulatory letter.
In general, due to the influence of factors such as deliberate hype, the position of the Filipino people on the South China Sea issue has become more extreme, which provides a public opinion basis for Manila to take further military action, but it is not conducive to the stability of the situation in the South China Sea. However, the majority of Filipinos still want to solve the problem through peaceful means, and do not want to see the Philippines drawn into the confrontation between China and the United States.
Coupled with the influence of the internal struggle in the Philippines, the possibility of resolving the issue through consultation between China and the Philippines has not been closed. How to find a balance between intensifying military action and ensuring that China and the Philippines do not engage in conflict may become the key to the Philippine side's next strategic adjustment in the South China Sea.