''A great majority'' of Filipinos distrust China and perceive it as the greatest threat to the Philippines, a recent survey showed on Monday.

The latest "Tugon ng Masa" survey released by OCTA Research on Monday shows that "a great majority of adult Filipinos (85 percent) continue to distrust China, with only 15 percent saying the Philippines should trust the country."

“China is also overwhelmingly viewed as the greatest threat to the Philippines, cited by 74 percent of respondents, far ahead of Russia and North Korea at 4 percent each,” the survey stated.

OCTA said the main reasons are due to "China's aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea (66 percent), the influx of smuggled products from China that hurt local industries (13 percent), the increase in criminal cases involving Chinese nationals (9%), (and the) job competition from Chinese workers (8 percent)."

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for West Philippine Sea (WPS) stressed that the "OCTA results show that the Filipino people understand the threat in the WPS and support the stand of the Government to defend our maritime rights."

"This further strengthens the resolve of the AFP to protect and secure what is rightfully ours. It adds more legitimacy to our stand and fight when you know you have the backing of the vast majority of our people," he said.

"Issues in the WPS are the greatest threat to our existence as a Republic that we all have to face together," he added.

The survey also showed that 76 percent of Filipinos strongly support the government's effort defending the country’s maritime rights, affirming that the WPS is a vital part of the nation’s maritime entitlements and backing government efforts to assert them.

The non-commissioned survey was conducted by OCTA through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above from July 12 to 17, 2025. Robina Asido/DMS