The comments and pledge came as officials from the two countries met here recently on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes

A zero-sum mentality about China-US relations is reflected not only in the thinking of some US politicians, but also in a new survey conducted by the Pew Research CenterThe report finds that people in the Philippines still like the US and have confidence in its leader, President Donald Trump

The survey released on Sept 21 bore a title saying people in the Philippines still favor the United States over China, but that the gap is narrowingA quarter now name China as the world's leading economy, up from 14 percent the last time the Philippines was surveyedSuch an independent policy is dealing a heavy blow to those who still view the relationship between the three countries as zero-sum

And despite the Philippines being the most pro-Trump nation in Pew's spring 37-country survey, confidence in Trump now is lower than it was in then-President Barack Obama in 2015The US was believed to be fully behind the scenes when the Philippines, under President Benigno Aquino III, filed the arbitration suit in 2013 against China in a tribunal in The Hague, a case in which China had refused to participate

His tough rhetoric on the US and softened rhetoric on China, especially compared with his predecessor Aquino III, has worried many in the US

The Obama administration had done everything it could to internationalize the South China Sea issue and had used the Philippines, a US ally, to advance the American strategyIn its 2016 defense white paper, Japan interferes in the South China Sea

The white paper served as an implementation scheme for the controversial security bills that enable Japan's Self-Defense Forces to play a more comprehensive global military role and allow implementation of the new US and Japan alliance guidelinesIt made irresponsible accusations against China, claiming that China continues to act in an "assertive" manner, including attempts at changing the status quo by coercion

cn]On August 2, Japanese government approved this year's version of defense white paper, which described the security environment surrounding the country "increasingly severe"China's "dangerous acts" in the South China Sea and East China Sea could cause unintended consequences