TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In a Defense Priorities poll on Thursday (Aug. 8), 66% of Americans said that Taiwan should invest more in its military.
The US think tank commissioned YouGov to conduct an opinion poll on 1,000 Americans, per CNA. It fielded foreign policy questions including cross-strait tensions and the Russo-Ukrainian War.
When asked if they would support Taiwan’s independence even if it increased the chances of a Chinese invasion, 59% said yes, while 41% said no.
Another prompt read, “Defending Taiwan could risk nuclear war with China, lead to the deaths of thousands of US service members and cost the US billions of dollars.” When asked if the US should use its military to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion regardless of cost, the results showed:
- Strongly agree: 11%
- Somewhat agree: 19%
- Neutral: 33%
- Somewhat disagree: 19%
- Strongly disagree: 18%
When asked if avoiding war with China is more important than Taiwan’s political autonomy from China, results showed:
- Strongly agree: 19%
- Somewhat agree: 25%
- Neutral: 36%
- Somewhat disagree: 15%
- Strongly disagree: 6%
When asked if the US should require Taiwan to invest more in its defense as a prerequisite for any US commitments, 66% said yes while 34% said no.
Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War, 80% said the US should send aid to Ukraine but with conditions, while 52% said they did not think Ukraine could win the war.