TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A majority of likely U.S. voters would support Washington using the U.S. Navy and Air Force to assist in the defense of Taiwan, according to a recent poll of likely voters.

Between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, the U.S. polling firm Rasmussen asked 900 likely U.S. voters four questions on their attitude toward the U.S. helping to defend Taiwan. Based on the results published Feb. 21, a clear majority would support tough economic sanctions on China, as well as the involvement of the U.S. Navy and Air Force in military operations to defend the country.



However, respondents did not express as much support when asked the fourth question of the poll, which was “If China were to invade Taiwan, would you support or oppose the United States sending ground troops to defend Taiwan?” On this question, only 42% of respondents expressed their support, while 46% of respondents were opposed to ground troop involvement in a potential military conflict.

In contrast, responses to the first three questions indicate a strong willingness among likely U.S. voters to support the defense of Taiwan. Excluding involvement in ground operations, support for economic sanctions and the use of naval and air force assets showed strong bipartisan support.

Question one was “If China were to invade Taiwan, would you support or oppose the United States imposing economic sanctions on China?” In response, 79% of those polled expressed support, while 12% were opposed, and 9% were unsure.

For question two, which asked about using the navy to defend Taiwan, 64% of respondents said they would support U.S. involvement. In contrast, 23% said they would be opposed and 13% were uncertain.

Similarly, for question three, which asked about using the Air Force to defend Taiwan, 63% of respondents said they would support U.S. involvement. In contrast, 24% said they would be opposed and 13% were uncertain.

On question four, which asked about deploying ground troops, a similar number of those surveyed (12%) were uncertain.

Among the respondents who support deploying ground troops, respondents who identified as Democrats expressed greater support with 51%. In comparison, 40% of Republicans surveyed and 38% of independents support the use of ground troops if China were to invade Taiwan, as per Newsmax.



Rasmussen reports that the margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3%, and that there is a 95% confidence level in the results.