Taking sides is against interests of Australia

To an increasing number of Australians, how to balance their country's relations with the United States and Japan on the one hand, and with China on the other, is a paradox. An opinion poll released last week may provide a practical solution for Canberra as it looks to navigate its way around the sensitive issues involving Beijing, Tokyo and Washington.

The results of a survey revealed on Jan 6 by the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney, shows 71 percent of those polled believe Australia should remain neutral in any conflict between China and Japan over disputed territories in the East China Sea.

The poll, conducted in December, focused on attitudes toward the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. One of the questions it asked was: In the event of a war over the islands, if the US president rang the Australian prime minister to ask Australia to join the Japanese and Americans, what should he say?