MANILA: China’s image in the Philippines is largely negative due to the tension over the West Philippines Sea with two in five Filipinos saying the Asian giant has become the country’s foe.
A global survey by Pew Research Centre released on Thursday finds that in 2013, 39 percent of the population consider the Asian giant as an “enemy,” while 35 percent think China is “neither.”
Only 22 percent of Filipinos see China as a “partner.”
Among the countries that have standing territorial disputes with China, it is also the Filipinos who say the sea row with China is a “big problem” in the country.
About 90 percent of Filipinos find the dispute over the West Philippine Sea a headache for the nation. Most of the Japanese (82 percent), South Koreans (77 percent) and Indonesians (62 percent) also think the tension with China is a “big problem.”
Several Filipinos, at 22 percent, say China is or will be the world’s leading superpower, but most still think the US is and will continue to be at the top globally.
“More than six-in-ten in Japan (67 percent), the Philippines (67 percent), and South Korea (61 percent) name the US as the leading economic power,” the study said.
Moreover, more Asians including Filipinos are troubled about China’s growing military power.
“Nearly all the Japanese (96 percent) and South Koreans (91 percent) and strong majorities of Australians (71 percent) and Filipinos (68 percent) think China’s expanding martial capabilities are bad for their country,” the report said.
The Japanese have given China the worst ratings in the survey with only 5 percent of them expressing a positive view.
“Territorial frictions with China are considered major problems in South Korea and the Philippines, although unlike Japan, South Koreans and Filipinos are divided in their overall assessments of China,” the report said.
The Philippine star
