Pinoys back stronger naval presence, diplomacy in West Philippine Sea – poll

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June 4, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Most Filipinos support expanded naval presence, continued diplomacy and the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as ways to address conflict in the West Philippine Sea, a survey conducted by the OCTA Research group showed.

The March 18 to 24 survey released on Wednesday asked respondents what measures the Marcos administration should prioritize to effectively address the issues related to the conflict.

The respondents were allowed to select up to three options.

Based on the results, 69 percent of the respondents want the Philippine government to further assert the country’s territorial rights through expanded naval patrols and troop presence in the area.

Sixty-six percent selected diplomacy and other peaceful methods, while 64 percent selected AFP modernization.

Other options included expanding diplomatic efforts with the countries within and outside the region to reduce tension in the area (37 percent), conducting joint maritime patrols with ally countries (29 percent) and shelving disputes for joint economic development of the area (23 percent).

The survey showed that expanded naval patrol and troop presence were the first choice of most respondents (35 percent), followed by diplomacy with 27 percent (27 percent) and AFP modernization (19 percent).

“The findings point to a public that is both aware of the challenges in the WPS and supportive of a balanced policy framework. Adult Filipinos appear to favor a strategy that simultaneously upholds Philippine sovereign rights, maintains peaceful diplomatic engagement and strengthens national defense capabilities,” OCTA said in its analysis of results.

“For policymakers, security institutions and foreign policy stakeholders, the results suggest that these three pillars continue to enjoy broad public legitimacy as the foundation of the country’s approach to the West Philippine Sea,” it added.

AFP reaction

The AFP welcomed yesterday the results of the new survey showing that about seven out of every 10 Filipinos support and want the military to continue asserting the country’s rights over the West Philippine Sea.

“The AFP welcomes the results of the recent OCTA Research Tugon ng Masa survey, which clearly reflect the strong, unified resolve of our nation,” the military’s spokesman for the WPS, retired rear admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said.

?Trinidad said “the high public support for expanding naval patrols and military presence, utilizing peaceful diplomacy and modernizing the AFP directly aligns with our mandate.”

According to him, these insights reinforce the AFP’s implementation of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, which shifts the focus from internal security to external defense.

New structure?

Meanwhile, a “possible structure” was spotted on the reef flat near the lagoon entrance of Panatag Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc).

Independent maritime monitoring group SeaLight shared on Tuesday a commercial satellite imagery of the potential structure referenced last weekend by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.

Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal is a maritime feature within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales.

According to SeaLight, the imagery revealed a small reflective object at the southern tip of the reef rim, clearly distinguishable near the lagoon entrance, which is a sensitive chokepoint where access has previously been controlled by vessels and floating barriers. – Michael Punongbayan, Andrew Ronquillo