A month or so after the controversial Reed Bank incident involving a Filipino fishing boat and a Chinese trawler, public opinion on the matter has scarcely subsided. The horrific details from the altercation were rightly met with massive indignation: the fishing boat anchored while the crew rested, the collision with the Chinese trawler that led to the boat’s sinking, and the 22 Filipino fishermen left to drown on the high seas. If the early June incident marked a typical episode of Chinese aggression in Philippine waters, a recent Social Weather Station survey confirms that a broad majority of Filipinos rejects and opposes such brazen incursion. For instance, a huge 93 percent said they believe it is important to regain control of the West Philippine Sea, while 89 percent said it feels wrong to do nothing. These numbers offer a stinging rebuke of the defeatist and lackadaisical line of the Duterte administration, which had all but given up any position of strength in the disputed waters, out of a professed—and ridiculous—fear of starting a war with Beijing.

Oxales, O. (2019, July 15). Near-unanimous against China's incursions. Manila Standard, p. A5.