A recent study from Capstone-Intel Corporation revealed that the South China Sea topic is currently facing 75 percent of negative mentions across social and non-social media platforms in the Philippines, citing various issues concerning the disputed waters.
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Background
In 2016, a landmark maritime dispute was decided in favor of the Philippines by an international tribunal in The Hague. The panel came to the conclusion that China had no legal foundation to claim historic rights over the majority of the South China Sea. This ruling was a significant victory for the Philippines, which has now called the area the “West Philippine Sea.”
However, China has disregarded the verdict, and according to the Philippine government, Beijing has continued to send its marine militia to Scarborough Shoal and significant seas located within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
The Philippines and the People’s Republic of China have yet to resolve the brawl, with China asserting more dominance in the South China Sea by guarding the whole area with its militia and advanced defense systems.
Recently, China and the Philippines lodged mutual accusations over the instigation of crashes within a contentious region of the South China Sea. These incidents mark the most recent occurrences in a series of maritime conflicts between the two nations, thereby exacerbating tensions within the area.
According to an official statement, Philippine officials have reported that a Chinese Coast Guard vessel engaged in hazardous obstruction tactics, resulting in a collision with a Philippine vessel transporting provisions to military personnel deployed at Ayungin Shoal, alternatively referred to as Second Thomas Shoal, situated within the Spratly Islands territory.
According to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, China’s actions can be characterized as “provocative, irresponsible, and illegal,” posing a threat to the safety of the crew members on the Philippine boats.
In a statement, the Chinese Coast Guard lodged allegations against the Philippines, asserting that the latter had contravened established principles of international maritime law and posed a risk to the safe navigation of Chinese vessels.
The Chinese Coast Guard ship intercepted the first Philippine ship, which it accused of trespassing into the waters it refers to as the Nansha Islands and Renai Reef.
Methodology
Capstone-Intel conducted a one-month backtracking of posts across social and non-social media platforms in order to determine how Filipinos reacted to the issue. The agency utilized its customized social listening tools in order to gather data across all publicly available posts on social media from September 23 to October 23, which covers the recent collision within the South China Sea, in order to identify the sentiments of users about the topic.
Facebook Performance
Capstone-Intel Data showed that on Facebook, the topic received a total of 38,245 Facebook reactions, with Facebook Like reactions getting the majority of these numbers with 28,205 (73.7 percent). This was followed by heart reactions with 4,684 (12.2 percent), “haha” reactions with 3,390 (8.9) percent, angry reactions with 1,332 (3.5 percent), and sad reactions with one percent.
This information showed varied reactions from the public as investigations remain underway.
Sentiment Analysis
When looking at the mentions it generated across social and non-social media platforms, Capstone-Intel found that there were a total of 75 percent negative mentions online and 25 percent positive mentions.
These mentions led to the total 45 million social media reach it has received during one-month backtracking.
On the other hand, when the study was conducted, issues concerning safety within the area rose as the primary topics being discussed online. The phrase “Unsafe China Sea’ received a 19 percent share of voice online, while its interaction share is reportedly at 9.9 percent.
Top posts
In terms of top posts, Capstone-Intel Corp. found that a social media post from the Armed Forces of the Philippines about a naval vessel belonging to the Philippine Navy that issued a warning to a Chinese Navy vessel due to its hazardous maneuvers within the territorial waters of Pag-Asa became the top post for the issue with a 905.6 engagement score. This was followed by a multimedia report from PTV4, which reports about the Department of National Defense, Sec. Teodoro’s insistence that it is necessary to oppose China’s intention to control the entire South China Sea, especially since the Philippines has sovereign rights in the area, This story received a total of 369.4 engagement scores. The third top story regarding the issue was about President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who underscored the critical significance of peace and security in the South China Sea and Arabian Sea during the ASEAN-GCC Summit.
