A graphic circulating online claims that a majority of Filipinos favor waging war jointly with allied nations to defend the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea against China, citing an actual commissioned nationwide survey. This is misleading.
An FB page, tagged as a “news and media website,” posted the social media card on June 16 with the text:
“86% OF FILIPINOS SUPPORT GOING TO WAR WITH ALLIES TO DEFEND THE WPS AGAINST CHINA.”
The phrase “going to war” in the headline does not appear in the caption, which detailed the findings of the Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Stratbase Institute. It partly read:
“Most Filipinos would rather resist than yield.
A new Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Stratbase Institute found that 86% of Filipinos support working with allied nations to defend the West Philippine Sea amid continuing tensions with China.
Whether through diplomacy, international partnerships, or national resolve, one message from the survey appears clear: many Filipinos believe that backing down is not an option when it comes to defending what they see as their country’s sovereign rights.”
This false connection between the headline in the graphic and the post’s caption is an obvious red flag, which tends to mislead netizens into believing that most Filipinos indeed expressed support for the war against China.
Respondents were asked two questions in the survey: Whether they agree or disagree that “[t]he Philippine government should defend the [WPS] with like-minded countries in accordance with the 2016 Arbitral Award” and which “countries or organizations should the Philippines work with in defending the [WPS]” based on the choices provided.
A 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which China refused to accept, struck down its so-called “nine-dash line” claims in the South China Sea.
Nowhere in the survey findings published by Stratbase Institute on its official FB page on June 10 does the phrase “going to war against China” appear, contrary to what the online posts alleged.
Several media organizations that reported the survey results made no mention of Filipinos supporting war against China in defense of the WPS. None of the reports quoted Stratbase Institute President Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit about such a claim.
The commissioned survey found that 86% or nearly nine in 10 Filipinos believed that the Philippine government should forge alliances with “like-minded nations” to safeguard the country’s rights in the WPS. Moreover, most respondents (84%) identified the United States as a partner the Philippines should work with to pursue this objective.
The misleading graphic spread across social media amid the presence of a “movable floating platform” since May 25, which the Chinese Embassy in Manila called a “temporary scientific research facility,” inside Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal.
Platform removed, ‘research completed’
The National Task Force for the WPS confirmed the floating platform is no longer in the Panatag Shoal, based on a maritime domain awareness flight conducted by the authorities on June 17.
Despite the removal, the task force reiterated that “Bajo de Masinloc is and will always be an integral part of Philippine territory,” adding that only the country has the “right to place or construct structures and conduct activities, including marine scientific research” in the area.
In a June 16 statement, the Chinese Embassy Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei said that the “scientific research mission” involving the “floating in-situ sampling and experimental platform” designed to “deepen understanding…and enhance the protection of the [shoal’s] ecosystem” has been “completed.”
In response, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS, challenged China to release data gathered from its alleged scientific research activities in Panatag Shoal, especially if their mission’s real intention is “for the conservation or preservation of the environment and for the benefit of the world.”
Originally uploaded by FB page Worth Sharing (created on May 28, 2014), the deceptive graphic amassed over 31,000 reactions; 8,200 comments and 1,200 shares as of writing. Other copies have been cross-posted on Threads and X.
