West PH Sea dispute expected to be issue in 2025 midterm polls

File photo shows a China Coast Guard ship (upper left)near the Philippine Navy’s BRP Sierra Madre during the Philippine Coast Guard’s  aerial surveillance at Sabina and Ayungin Shoals in the West Philippine Sea on February 21, 2023. (INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — The tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)  is likely one of the issues in the 2025 midterm elections, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

“The West Philippine Sea issue is likely to become a political slogan leading up to the 2025 midterm elections,” Tarriela said in a Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum in Manila.

“Given the heightened awareness among Filipinos regarding Chinese aggression in the region, politicians may exploit patriotic sentiments for their own gain,” he added. 

Tarriela also warned that inflammatory remarks from politicians could escalate tensions in the disputed maritime region.

“If a politician advocates for a more aggressive stance in the West Philippine Sea, leveraging the anger of Filipinos towards China, there is a higher risk of escalating tension,” Tarriela said.

Seven out of 10 Filipinos favor military action to deal with China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea, according to an Octa Research Survey released last month.

In another survey conducted by Pulse Asia, eight out of 10 Filipino respondents said that the Philippines should work with the United States to resolve the continuing tensions in the western section of the country’s exclusive economic zone.

The same survey also said that only ten percent of Filipinos favor working with China.  

Tarriela said the survey results reflect that the majority of Filipinos favor the current strategy of the Marcos administration in dealing with the West Philippine Sea issue.

 “This issue has the power to unite us all by transcending partisan politics,” Tarriela said.