Indians Sceptical Of China's Policy towards Asia, India: Poll

Predictably, there continues to be deep concern within India about possible terrorist attacks from Pakistan as well as the motives of the Pakistan army, but a courageous reconciliatory move towards Islamabad by an Indian Prime Minister would invite widespread domestic support.

The poll also suggests that anti-Americanism, once a defining feature of Indian public opinion, is now part of history. Indians, not only, feel more warmly towards the U.S. than any other country, but see it as a role model in terms of governance.

Over all, Indians feel relatively secure, are optimistic about the future, but concerned about issues of governance and sensitive to the non-traditional threats to their security.

Nearly 63 percent of Indians would like relations with China to strengthen as compared to 75 percent who wanted Indo-U.S. ties to strengthen further over the next 10 years, according to the poll.

An overwhelming majority of 94 percent of Indians saw Pakistan as a threat, citing terrorism as a major reason while 31 percent thought the U.S. posed a threat to India, the poll found.

Even so, 89 percent of Indians agreed that ordinary people in both countries wanted peace and 87 percent agreed that a big improvement in India-Pakistan relations requires courageous leadership on both sides, and 76 percent agreed that India should take the initiative.

The poll also confirms the 'argumentative' Indians' great faith in democracy.

The Director of the International Security programme at the Lowy Institute, Rory Medcalf said, "With Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visiting India this week, the poll results suggest that China and India face major challenges in achieving trust and cooperation."

The poll found that Indians were more united when it came to Indian power and leadership in an ocean that is seen as India's natural sphere of interest. An overwhelming 94 per cent of Indians agreed that India should have the most powerful navy in the Indian Ocean and 89 per cent agreed that India should do more to lead cooperation in that region.

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