《TAIPEI TIMES》 Most Taiwanese prioritize ties with US, Japan: survey

Source: Institute for National Defense and Security Research Graphic: Taipei Times

VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwan’s security

By Sun Yung-yao / Staff reporter Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.

To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.

The results, published on Thursday in a report by institute researcher Lee Kuan-chen （李冠成）, found that about 66 percent of respondents believe improved Taiwan-US relations would strengthen national security, while 17 percent think it would weaken it.

The survey showed that about 68 percent think closer ties with Japan would enhance security, compared with 15 percent who said they would reduce it.

Overall, about two-thirds of respondents said that they think stronger ties with the US and Japan are beneficial to Taiwan’s security.

On the security impact of improved cross-strait relations, 47 percent of respondents said better ties between Taiwan and China would enhance national security, while 35 percent believed they would weaken it.

The margin is much narrower than in the cases of the US and Japan, suggesting far less consensus on the security benefits of closer cross-strait relations compared with Taiwan’s ties with the US and Japan.

Meanwhile, the survey showed that people with different political affiliations have significantly different views on how the relations with the three countries would affect Taiwan’s security.

Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） supporters are most inclined to see the US and Japan as key to bolstering security, with 93 percent saying closer Taiwan-US ties would improve security, and 91 percent saying the same of Taiwan-Japan relations, the survey showed.

By contrast, just 28 percent believe improved cross-strait relations would enhance security.

The survey found that about 74 percent of Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） supporters think improved cross-strait relations would enhance security, more than those who think Taiwan-US ties （42 percent） or Taiwan-Japan ties （47 percent） are beneficial, the survey showed.

The overall survey results suggested that the Taiwanese public does not see all foreign relationships as equally important, and that views on the sources of national security vary, Lee said.

The findings showed that the US and Japan play a significant role in how Taiwanese view national security, he said, adding that perceptions of Japan’s contribution to security have become similar to those of the US.

In the past few years, as Japan has adjusted its security policy, bolstered its defense capabilities and paid closer attention to developments in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese views of Japan’s security role appear to have shifted accordingly, he said.

The government would consider how to translate public sentiment into more concrete cooperation, he said.

The poll, conducted from March 12 to March 16, interviewed Taiwanese aged 20 or older, garnered 1,169 valid samples. It has a margin of error of 2.87 percentage points.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES