Taiwan ranks eighth among Philippines' preferred partners in survey

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, left, a spokesman for the Philippine Navy, speaks at a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila on April 14. Photo: EPA

By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan ranked eighth among the Philippine’s “preferred partners,” while 86 percent of respondents supported Manila working with like-minded countries to defend its sovereignty in the South China Sea, a survey released yesterday showed.

The survey, conducted by Pulse Asia Research Inc, showed that 3 percent of respondents opposed working with like-minded countries to defend Manila’s claims in the South China Sea, while 11 percent declined to comment.

Asked which countries or organizations the Philippines should work with to defend the “West Philippine Sea,” 84 percent said the US, followed by Japan （67 percent）, Australia （57 percent）, Canada （51 percent） and South Korea （44 percent）.

A similar poll in December last year showed that support among respondents for the US was 82 percent and 64 percent for Japan.

Manila refers to the parts of the South China Sea it claims as the West Philippine Sea.

Twenty-three percent — almost double the 12 percent of the previous survey — said that the Philippines should work with Taiwan, putting it eighth on the list, the poll showed.

In Metro Manila, 30 percent of respondents said that the Philippines should work with Taiwan, it showed.

Dindo Manhit — chief executive officer of the Makati City-based Stratebase Institute, which commissioned the survey — said the results showed that people have a clear message for the Philippine government: It must stand up to defend its own interests in the West Philippine Sea and should continue to closely collaborate with like-minded partners.

Asked about Taiwan placing eighth on the list of countries to collaborate with, Manhit said that it was a public opinion poll that reflects the subjective views of respondents.

The institute had not looked into why people responded as they did, he added.

The results showed that people can distinguish which countries support the Philippines’ maritime rights and which are adding to tensions in the region, he said.

The survey was conducted from May 3 to 7, garnering 1,500 valid responses.

The survey was released as the Philippines yesterday urged Beijing to remove a floating structure placed at the disputed Scarborough Shoal （Huangyan Island, 黃岩島）, adding that it would not allow the atoll, which Taiwan also claims, to be turned into an artificial island.

Manila on Tuesday lodged a diplomatic protest with China over what it described as a “movable platform,” which the Philippine Coast Guard said was likely deployed by Chinese research vessels.

“From the lens of defense and security, we are doing what we can to perform our mandate, and that includes preventing Bajo de Masinloc from being developed into another manmade island,” Philippine Navy spokesman Roy Trinidad told a news conference, using the shoal’s local name.

Additional reporting by Reuters

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES