Staggering '83 pc Indians see China as major security threat'

A staggering 83 per cent of Indians view China as a major security threat even as 63 per cent of Indians would like relations with China to be strengthened, states an opinion poll.

China's possession of nuclear weapons, its efforts at strengthening its relations with other countries in the Indian Ocean region and the China-India border dispute have emerged as the major reasons because of which the wariness was generated, according to the poll which was launched at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

India Poll 2013: Facing the Future -- Indian Views of the World Ahead was conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy and the Australia India Institute.

Pakistan, the poll revealed, is seen as a major threat by a majority (94 per cent) of the Indians surveyed because of Islamabad's nuclear weapons and its claims of sovereignty over Kashmir.

The poll noted that 83 per cent Indians hold a strong liking for the United States.

Other countries for which Indians surveyed by the poll expressed affinity were Singapore, Japan and Australia.

Other issues which worry Indians are corruption (94 per cent ), domestic policy and democracy etc, the poll said.