The report finds that people in the Philippines still like the US and have confidence in its leader, President Donald TrumpThe survey released on Sept 21 bore a八戒体育 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-sumAnd despite the Philippines being th八戒体育e 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