Three in four Australians believe US ties increase chance of war involvement in Asia, poll shows

More than three in four Australians believe the alliance with the United States makes it more likely Australia would be drawn into a war in Asia against the national interest, a new poll shows.

The poll found strong support for the alliance with the US, even though there was a mix of views about the potential consequences and benefits.

A slim majority of Australians (51%) believe Australia should remain neutral in the event of a military conflict between China and the US, down six points since last year. Forty-six per cent said Australia should support the US in such a war, up five points, while 1% said it should support China.

Younger Australians were more likely to say Australia should remain neutral.

The new Australian government has reiterated the longstanding bipartisan position that it opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

France (82%), Japan (87%) and the UK (87%) also attracted high trust scores from Australians, while the US came in at 65%, or 18 points below the Barack Obama-era high.

A narrow majority (52%) believe the Aukus security partnership with the US and the UK will make Australia safer. The view that it will make Australia safer is more likely to be expressed by Australians who lean towards supporting the Liberal and National parties than those who lean towards Labor or Greens.

The Lowy polling, conducted by the Social Research Centre between 15 and 28 March 2022, has a margin of error of about 2.2%. The results of the annual poll are watched closely by foreign affairs and defence officials in Canberra.