A poll released by a Chicago-based think tank shows that more Americans now support using the US Navy to break a Chinese blockade against Taiwan, while support for sending US troops to Taiwan to help fight off a Chinese invasion also grew from 36 percent last year to 43 percent this year.
The number of Americans supporting Taiwan is growing, but the US public prefers maintaining the “status quo” rather than risking military confrontation, the survey published by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Monday showed.
According to the survey, on a scale from 0, very hostile, to 100, very friendly, Americans’ perception of Taiwan stood at about 57, on a par with South Korea, and between Japan, 67, and India, 48.
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The perception of China stood at 38 points.
“Seven in 10 Americans say trade between the United States and Taiwan does more to strengthen US national security, at 70 percent, than it does to weaken it, only 24 percent,” the survey said.
The view that US-Taiwan trade relations were beneficial to US national security was shared across party lines, although independents (71 percent) and Democrats (74 percent) were more inclined toward the view than Republicans, at 64 percent, the survey showed.
When asked whether the US should adopt more tangible policies to support Taiwan, 40 percent said they were unable to answer without being better informed, and the number of respondents who said the US should adopt such policies outnumbered those who opposed it, the survey showed.
US-Taiwan free-trade agreements were the most supported policy, with 51 percent supporting them, 6 percent opposed and 41 percent unsure, it showed.
Including Taiwan in international organizations, such as Interpol or the International Civil Aviation Organization, had the support of 46 percent of respondents, it showed.
In the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Americans were more in favor of providing support, but opposed getting directly involved, the survey showed.
The survey showed that 77 percent of respondents favored sending food and medical supplies, 71 percent favored imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions on China, and 63 percent favored sending additional arms and military supplies to Taiwan.
The survey showed that 47 percent of respondents, up 10 percentage points from last year, supported using the US Navy to break a Chinese blockade, even if it would trigger a direct US-China conflict.
The survey also showed that 43 percent of respondents supported sending US troops to Taiwan to defend against China, the highest support across four years and up 7 percentage points from last year.
The survey showed that half of Americans supported maintaining the “status quo,” while 35 percent encouraged Taiwan to move closer to independence.
Chicago Council on Global Affairs director of public opinion and foreign policy Craig Kafura, the author of the report, said that the survey showed a shifting public mood in the US.
“Over the past year, Americans of all political stripes have become more likely to support aid to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion,” Kafura said.
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