West PHL Sea: Filipinos rank military buildup as top defense

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) remains the Filipino public’s top choice for defending the country’s rights in its seas, results of a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group showed.

The Second Quarter 2026 national survey, conducted from June 20 to 29, 2026, came after Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said he was pushing to raise the country’s defense spending to as much as 4 percent of gross domestic product to better counter Chinese aggression and protect the country’s maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Stratbase Institute president Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit said the findings showed the public recognizes the importance of strengthening the country’s own defense capabilities to better protect its maritime rights.

“The Filipino people understand that defending our maritime rights requires more than legal victories. It requires credible capabilities, resilient institutions, and sustained investment in the Armed Forces and the Philippine Coast Guard. The survey shows that Filipinos recognize that our security begins with our ability to protect our sovereign rights and deter coercion in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

The survey asked respondents to identify their first and second preferred measures that the Philippines should continue implementing to effectively defend its maritime rights.

As a first choice, 45 percent of Filipinos picked supporting the modernization of the AFP and the PCG, the most preferred measure nationwide.

Support for military modernization as a top priority was broad across regions, led by Luzon at 47 percent, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 46 percent, the Visayas at 44 percent, and Mindanao at 39 percent.

Meanwhile, 33 percent said the government’s first priority should be reinforcing alliances and elevating partnerships through maritime cooperative activities and military exercises with allies, friends, and partners, while 22 percent favored establishing defense and security agreements with like-minded partners.

The results aligned with an earlier Stratbase-commissioned Pulse Asia survey in May, which found that 86 percent of Filipinos want the government to work with like-minded nations, especially the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Canada, in defending the West Philippine Sea.

During the Stratbase Institute’s high-level conference marking the 10th anniversary of the arbitral award, representatives from over 30 foreign missions expressed support for the Philippines’ historic victory affirming its rights in the West Philippine Sea, with 10 ambassadors — from Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — saying they wanted to deepen their defense cooperation with the Philippines to bolster its credible defense posture.

When respondents were asked for their second choice, reinforcing alliances emerged as the leading option, selected by 39 percent nationwide.

The measure drew its strongest support in NCR and the Visayas, where 41 percent of respondents identified it as their second priority, followed by 39 percent in Luzon and 37 percent in Mindanao.

Establishing defense and security agreements ranked second among respondents’ secondary preferences at 31 percent nationwide, while 30 percent chose continued modernization of the AFP and PCG as their second priority.

Support for military modernization as a second choice was highest in Mindanao at 34 percent, followed by the Visayas at 30 percent, Luzon at 28 percent, and NCR at 26 percent.

Manhit said the findings suggested that while Filipinos overwhelmingly viewed strengthening the country’s military and coast guard capabilities as the government’s foremost priority, many also see deeper defense cooperation with allies and like-minded partners as an important complementary strategy.

“Filipinos also recognize that credible defense is built on two pillars: a capable military and strong partnerships with like-minded countries. These are not competing approaches but complementary ones. As the security environment becomes more complex, the Philippines must continue investing in its own defense while deepening cooperation with allies who share our commitment to peace, stability, and international law,” he added.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult Filipinos nationwide from June 20 to 29, 2026, using a structured questionnaire with visuals, with an error margin of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao at the 95 percent confidence level.