TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An annual survey carried out by the Ronald Reagan Institute found that a high percentage of Americans are concerned about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, support boosting the U.S. troop presence near Taiwan, and back selling arms to the country.
According to this year's Reagan National Defense Survey, 51% of Americans now consider China as the country that poses the greatest threat to the U.S., up from 43% last year and 21% when the first survey was first conducted in 2018. Regarding Taiwan, 73% of respondents expressed concern about a Chinese invasion, with 68% of Democrats and Republicans considering the country an ally.
Over the past four years, the survey has found that there has been an increase in support for sending U.S. forces to defend Taiwan from 39% in 2019 to 46% in 2023. When informed about Taiwan's democratic system and strategic significance, 52% of participants said they were more likely to back dispatching U.S. troops to aid Taiwan.
To deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, 60% of Americans said they were in favor of boosting the U.S. military presence near Taiwan. In addition, 55% of respondents said they concur with stepping up U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
The poll was implemented by Beacon Research and Shaw & Co., between Oct. 27 and Nov. 5 and gathered responses from 2,506 American adults. The poll's findings were published on Thursday (Nov. 30) just before its annual National Defense Forum which is slated for Saturday (Dec. 2).