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A majority of the people in India, Japan, Philippines and Vietnam believe border disputes with China could result in military conflicts.
Indians see Pakistanis as the biggest threat to them; the other three nations says it's China, suggests a Pew survey report, issued on Monday.
"In a number of the nations closest to China, overwhelming proportions of the public expressed such fears (military conflict), including 93 per cent of Filipinos, 85 per cent of Japanese, 84 per cent of Vietnamese and 83 per cent of South Koreans. Moreover, 61 per cent of the public in the Philippines and 51 per cent in Vietnam say they are very concerned about a possible military confrontation with Beijing, " it said. (THE STORY OF US, CHINA AND ASIA)
"And, in China itself, fully 62 per cent are concerned about a possible conflict."
China is at loggerheads with Japan over small and uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The Philippines and China are embroiled in a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Vietnam is opposed to China's oil drilling off the Paracel Islands off Vietnam's coast. And, India has an old boundary dispute with China, which also claims territorial rights over Arunachal Pradesh.
The survey report, titled "Global opposition to US surveillance and drones, but limited harm to America's image", was prepared after interviewing nearly 50,000 people in 44 nations, including 11 Asian countries, from March 7 to June 5.
Akin to China, the US is also perceived as a threat to many Asian countries. The report says Pakistanis (38 per cent), Chinese (36 per cent), Malaysians (26 per cent) and Indonesians (25 per cent) see the US as the greatest danger to their nation. The Chinese perceive Russia as their greatest ally. And, Bangladeshis (27 per cent) consider India the biggest threat to their nation.
The report also focuses on a race between the US and China on the economic and military fronts.
"Despite this, in the 44 countries surveyed in spring 2014, more still say that the US, rather than China, is the world's leading economy. This sentiment is highest in the region where China is most dominant: Asia," the report said. Across 43 nations, a median of 53 per cent believe China's growing economy is a good thing for their own economy. While, 27 per cent say this is a bad thing .
"Majorities or pluralities in most countries now believe China either has surpassed or will in the future surpass the US as the world's leading superpower," it added.
The report has found surveillance on people has not resulted in deterioration of the US image. "The Survey finds widespread global opposition to US eavesdropping and a decline in the view that the US respects the personal freedoms of its people. But in most countries, there is little evidence this opposition has severely harmed America's overall image," the report said.
However, the world has deplored the US for drones targeting extremists in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Israel, Kenya and the US are the only nations polled where at least half the public supports drone strikes.
The report says US President Barack Obama's popularity has declined internationally. It took a hit in Germany and Brazil over a phone tapping row and in Russia because of tension over Ukraine.
