Poll says we should fight to help Taiwan
Survey’s bold defence result
ALMOST one in two Australians would support sending troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, a new poll shows, but Americans are less willing to deploy their military forces.
The United States Studies Centre report reveals Australians would prefer to send weapons and economically isolate China if it moved on Taiwan, but only 25 per cent would oppose sending in soldiers. Overall, 46 per cent of Australians support responding with force, compared to 33 per cent of Americans.
The USSC report, to be released on Wednesday, also shows strong backing for Australia’s planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, as well as expanding the AUKUS defence pact to include China and South Korea.
A record 58 per cent of
Americans believe their alliance with Australia makes the US more secure, up from 44 per cent last December, while 63 per cent of Australians feel the US alliance makes us safer.
But Australians are increasingly cautious about the state of American politics and would prefer Joe Biden wins the 2024 election instead of Donald Trump, with one in two saying a Trump return would be bad for Australia.
Yougov polled more than 1000 voters in each of Australia, the US and Japan last month for the USSC, based at the University of Sydney.
It found 52 per cent of Australians believed China was mostly harmful in Asia, with 36 per cent approving of how the federal government was handling that relationship, compared to 33 per cent who were on the fence and 19 per cent who disapproved.
Asked about Australia’s nuclear submarine plan, 52 per cent said it was a good idea while 19 per cent disagreed.
About two in five voters supported the US building some submarines on our behalf, although opposition to that idea – which is being considered by defence officials in both countries – was higher among Labor voters.
USSC chief Dr Michael Green said that was a logical move as Australia built up its industrial capacity.
He said the data indicated that while the Albanese government was in a “pretty good position” to move forward with AUKUS, it needed to do more to explain the “rather vague” concept to voters, especially Labor supporters who also were more likely to oppose acquiring nuclear submarines.
Dr Green backed the “overwhelmingly positive” response on expanding AUKUS to include Japan, especially to collaborate on defence upgrades.