68% of Filipinos favor revealing China's actions in WPS — Pulse Asia

Majority of Filipinos support the continued disclosure of China’s actions against Philippine vessels and fishermen in the West Philippine Sea as Manila chairs the ASEAN in 2026, according to a Pulse Asia survey.

Conducted from February 27 to March 2, the survey found that 68% of Filipinos believe the Philippines should continue revealing China’s coercive actions in the WPS.

But 28% said the Philippines should not continue disclosing these incidents, while 4% said they could not tell or refused to answer, according to the survey results. 

Support for continuing disclosure was highest in the National Capital Region and Balance Luzon, both with 75%, followed by Mindanao at 68%.

However, the support was lower in the Visayas with only 45%.

By socioeconomic classes, the survey found that 76% of respondents in Class ABC supported continuing disclosure, compared with 67% in Class D and 63% in Class E.

The survey also asked respondents which countries they trust most to work with the Philippines in defending its rights and upholding international law in the WPS.

The United States topped the list with 70%, followed by Japan with 46%, Australia with 37%, Canada with 26%, and ASEAN as an organization with 24%.

Other partners cited by respondents include South Korea (20%), Russia (19%), United Kingdom (16%), Germany (13%), and Taiwan (6%).

Trump visit

Meanwhile, about 59% of Filipinos want US President Donald Trump to visit the Philippines during the ASEAN and East Asia meetings this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin came next with 10%, followed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with 9%.

Chinese President Xi Jinping only garnered 3%.

The Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan Survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult Filipinos nationwide. The survey has a ±2.8% margin of error at the national level and representative samples from NCR, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

This was commissioned by the We Protect Our Seas (WPS) organization. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News