MORE Filipinos have expressed distrust in China as of end-June month after the alleged sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea, according to Pulse Asia Research Inc.

Distrust in China rose to 74% last month, 14 points higher than in December, the polling company said in an emailed statement on Friday.

The pollster said 89% of Filipinos were aware of the June 9 incident at Reed Bank that left 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned at sea, and 36% think the Philippines should ask China to sanction crew members involved.

Meanwhile, 26% of Filipinos think China itself, not just the Chinese fishing vessel involved, should be made to pay for incident, Pulse Asia said, adding that 19% think the Chinese crew members should be tried in a Philippine court.

A tiny 10% said the Philippines and China should agree on a set of rules in the South China sea.

Meanwhile, Filipinos’ distrust of Russia and the United Kingdom increased 3 points each to 57% and 43% respectively in June, according to the poll. The United States, Japan and Australia enjoyed higher trust ratings last month at 89%, 79% and 76% respectively.

Pulse Asia interviewed 1,200 adults for the poll, which had an error margin of ± 2.8 points. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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