Pinoys favor US over China, bucking global trends — survey

Adrian Maravillas

Despite China placing globally on top as a more favorable country than the United States, Filipinos remained loyal to America in the latest Pew Research Center survey released on July 15.

The study found that 76% of Filipinos perceive China as a bigger threat than the US concerning national security. 

Through an open-ended question, the findings in the Philippines ranked the highest among the 11 nations that named China. 

On the contrary, China topped the global poll across 25 out of 36 countries for the first time in around 20 years since the institution began conducting worldwide opinions.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents had negative opinions of China, while a median of 51% of respondents in the 37 countries surveyed for Pew’s larger report had positive opinions. 

While favorability was still lower in wealthier nations in Europe, North America, and East Asia, it was highest in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and portions of South and Southeast Asia. 

According to the researchers, China’s popularity hit or approached all-time highs in Italy, Spain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Singapore.

The results show that despite Beijing’s improving reputation internationally, the Philippines is one of the few nations where public opinion still favors the United States over China.

PH-China tensions

The long-running conflict between the Philippines and China in maritime claims of the West Philippine Sea greatly affected the survey’s results.

With the foreign nation still declaring the whole area as part of its historic “nine-dash line,” the Philippines just celebrated the 10th year of its arbitral victory on July 12.

Although the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) recognized the ruling, China kept insisting on its claims. 

This is evident in the latest issues surrounding the Batanes territory and an artificial intelligence (AI) generated monkey depicted as the Philippines in a short video.

According to Cui Hongjian, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, historical disagreements and current bilateral tensions with China are strongly associated with public perceptions. 

PH-US relations

As the country commemorated its 80 years of Friendship Day with the USA last July 4, this alliance has increasingly materialized through high-stake initiatives like the Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica.

According to a report from the same agency last June 23, 68% of adults in the Philippines have higher confidence in US President Donald Trump over Chinese President Xi Jinping, the highest among all 36 countries.