A recent US poll has suggested that a majority of Americans believe that Taiwan investing more in its military capabilities to deter China should be a precondition to any US commitment to defend Taiwan.
The YouGov survey was conducted from July 18 to 24 with 1,000 adult respondents in the US and commissioned by Defense Priorities, a think tank affiliated with billionaire Charles Koch.
Asked whether they believe Taiwan allocating more resources to defense should be a prerequisite for any commitments from the US to defend it from China, 66 percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement, while 34 percent disagreed.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
About 59 percent of respondents believe the US should encourage or support Taiwan’s independence from China, even if it would increase the risks of a Chinese invasion or occupation of Taiwan, the poll showed.
When asked if the US should defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression at all costs, 18 percent of respondents strongly disagreed, 19 percent somewhat disagreed, 33 percent were neutral, 19 percent somewhat agreed and 11 percent highly agreed.
In other words, the poll suggested 30 percent of Americans believe the US should defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion given the potential costs of a conflict, while 37 percent of respondents are opposed.
According to the poll, 44 percent of Americans believe avoiding nuclear war with China is more important than supporting Taiwan’s right to be politically autonomous from Beijing while 21 percent disagreed.
The former group consisted of 19 percent of respondents who strongly agreed with the statement and 25 percent who somewhat agreed with the statement, while the latter consisted of 15 percent who somewhat disagreed and six percent strongly disagreed.
About 36 percent said they were neutral on the issue.
Elbridge Colby, former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development under former US president Donald Trump, said in a post on X that the survey is evidence that Taiwan should significantly increase its military spending.
“[T]he reality is that Americans’ support for defending Taiwan is at best questionable,” he wrote.
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