TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A recent survey shows 42.2% of Americans believe that if Taiwan is attacked, the U.S. military should defend the country.

The poll, conducted by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Eurasia Group Foundation between Friday (Aug. 27) and Wednesday (Sept. 1), coincided with the haphazard withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, according to a CNA report.

It also included questions on the country's broader foreign policy, with most participants wanting the U.S. to use diplomacy to solve international disputes, while more than half also said they hope to see a decrease in overseas troop deployments.

On the question of Taiwan though, 42.2% believe the U.S. should defend it in the event of a Chinese invasion, with 16.2% saying their country should not, while 41.6% remain unsure.

The number of Americans who feel U.S. foreign policy must focus on building democracy at home rather than abroad has increased substantially over the last two years, according to Foundation senior research fellow Mark Hannah.

"We collected our data at a time period when the U.S. was evacuating from Afghanistan and the failures of nation-building and democracy-promotion through military means were spectacular and quite stark," he added. "That might explain this uptick and a desire to do democracy promotion at home this year."