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54 pct of Filipinos want US-PH military ties expansion to address WPS tensions: survey

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A U.S UH-1Y helicopter performs maneuvers during a helocast and maritime patrol exercise as part of the semi-annual Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) in Ternate, Cavite on July 14, 2023. The MASA exercise aims to strengthen regional partnerships, foster military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, and promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/08/18/20230713-ph-usa-masa-cavite-mt-9.jpg"/><figcaption>A U.S UH-1Y helicopter performs maneuvers during a helocast and maritime patrol exercise as part of the semi-annual Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) in Ternate, Cavite on July 14, 2023. The MASA exercise aims to strengthen regional partnerships, foster military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, and promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — A slight majority of Filipinos favor the expansion of the US-Philippines military cooperation to address tensions in the West Philippine Sea, a recent poll by OCTA Research showed.</p><p>Of the 1,200 surveyed on July 22-26, 54 percent said they wanted to strengthen the military ties between the 2 countries to respond to territorial disputes in the region. </p><p>Some 32 percent of those surveyed were &quot;not sure&quot; if they&#x27;re favorable or unfavorable about the expansion of the military cooperation, 9 percent said &quot;somewhat unfavorable,&quot; and 2 percent were &quot;very unfavorable.&quot;</p><p>The same survey, which had a ±3 percent margin of error, also showed that 70 percent of Filipinos wanted to further assert the Philippines&#x27; territorial rights through diplomacy and other peaceful means. </p><p>&quot;Kumbaga &#x27;yung mga kababayan natin they prefer peace at ganun naman tayo as a nation,&quot; Guido David of OCTA Research told TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Friday.</p><p>Meanwhile, almost two-thirds or 65 percent wanted to assert the country&#x27;s territorial rights through military action, such as expanded naval patrols and troop deployments, Guido said.</p><p>&quot;Ibig sabihin gusto natin mag-negotiate para maiwasan ang gulo, pero kung magkakaroon ng confrontation gusto natin prepared tayo at least in a defensive sense,&quot; Guido said.</p><p>&quot;Hindi naman ‘yung tayong aggressive na lulusob tayo. Pero yung tayo’y pinalakas natin &#x27;yung military. Para kung i-water bomb tayo… hindi tayo nagpapaapi,&quot; he added.</p><p>Earlier this month, tensions in the West Philippine Sea rose anew after a Chinese ship used water cannon on Philippine vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/06/23/china-blasts-water-cannons-at-filipino-boats-in-west-ph-sea-pcg">Philippines slams China&#x27;s use of water cannons at PCG boats in Ayungin Shoal</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/04/23/philippines-us-to-mount-west-ph-sea-joint-patrols-by-end-2023">Philippines, US to mount West PH Sea joint patrols by end-2023</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2751211" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Fifty-four percent of Filipinos favor the expansion of the US-Philippines military ties to address territorial tensions, a survey showed.