South China Sea: most Filipinos want Beijing to follow rules-based order, survey shows

The findings come as the Philippine military says it will adopt new measures against China’s aggression in the maritime dispute

Reading Time:4 minutes

Philippine coastguard personnel prepare rubber fenders after Chinese coastguard vessels blocked their way to a resupply mission at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:46pm, 5 Jul 2024Updated: 7:57pm, 5 Jul 2024

Most Filipinos want China to follow a rules-based order instead of military actions to resolve the South China Sea conflict, a new survey finds, even as the Philippine military announced plans to adopt new countermeasures against Chinese incursions and propaganda.

Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr said in a press briefing late Thursday that these measures would include “fighting back” during self-defence sea operations, protecting potential targets from Chinese missile and drone attacks, as well as countering Chinese fake news about the dispute.

Brawner said while the military would obey the order by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and the country’s commander-in-chief to “de-escalate” tensions, the general added he has instructed soldiers taking part in maritime operations that “you have the right to defend yourself [while practising] that concept of proportionality of force.”

He recalled that, during the June 17 incident in which Chinese coastguard personnel boarded two Philippine resupply vessels while brandishing knives and other sharp objects, Filipino soldiers were under strict orders to fight back without using any weapons.

He said that under the new rules of engagement, “if they use the knife, we will also use a knife ... We will not use excessive force but apply the concept of proportionality.”