Consul General: Fil-Ams sympathize with PH amid sea tensions

NEW YORK CITY - Filipino-Americans are concerned with the ongoing maritime territorial tensions between China and the Philippines, especially how it might impact their families back home, according to Philippine Consul General in New York Senen Mangalile.

“And a lot of them are sympathetic to the Philippines, and they understand that anything that goes on there (West Philippines Sea) is a threat to the country [and] their families back home,” Mangalile said during a courtesy call by Filipino journalist-participants of the Friends, Partners, Allies Program.

“They are invested because their family is back home,” he added.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent months as both sides traded accusations over a series of incidents in the disputed waters.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

A portion of the South China Sea within the Philippine EEZ has been renamed the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.

“On average, I would say that the average Filipino-American in this region has an awareness of what's going on over there,” Mangalile said.

“Many of them will support certain activities that would give them more information about what's happening,” said the consul general.

Citing a 2022 US census, Mangalile said there were 4.4 million Filipinos in the US, of which 416,000 were in New York —its most populous city. — DVM, GMA Integrated News