{"title":"Australia's best friend in Asia","question":"
Thinking about Australia's relations in Asia. In your personal opinion, which one of the following countries is Australia’s best friend in Asia?
","summary":"Which one of the following countries is Australia’s best friend in Asia?","observation":"Australians are once again most likely to name Japan (44%) as ‘Australia’s best friend in Asia’ from a list of six countries. There is an almost 30-point margin between Japan and the countries ranked next on this measure, India (16%) and Singapore (15%). The number of Australians who selected India has more than doubled since 2022.
\nBy contrast, China ranked second-lowest on the list, with only 7% seeing it as Australia’s best friend in Asia, again highlighting how attitudes towards China have changed. Less than a decade ago, Japan and China shared the title of Australia’s best friend in Asia, and in 2016 China topped the list.
\nSouth Korea remains a consistent underperformer on this metric, with only 4% identifying it as Australia’s best friend in Asia — despite a strong bilateral relationship, developing strategic ties and growing cultural links.
","notes":["In 2014, this question was asked on behalf of the Lowy Institute by Newspoll in its omnibus survey on 2–4 May 2014."],"tweet":"","tags":[{"title":"Countries and world leaders","url":"tags/countries-and-world-leaders"},{"title":"Asia-Pacific","url":"tags/asia-pacific","color":"#3FADA8"},{"title":"Japan","url":"tags/japan","color":"#D95C6E"},{"title":"China","url":"tags/china","color":"#E05158"},{"title":"Indonesia","url":"tags/indonesia","color":"#FFC900"},{"title":"Australia's bilateral relations","url":"tags/australias-bilateral-relations","color":"#245E94"},{"title":"India","url":"tags/india","color":"#ff9800"},{"title":"South Korea","url":"tags/south-korea","color":"#46AE7C"},{"title":"Southeast Asia","url":"tags/southeast-asia","color":"#46AE7C"},{"title":"Singapore","url":"tags/singapore","color":"#245E94"},{"title":"Soft power","url":"tags/soft-power","color":"#8896A3"},{"title":"World leaders and countries","url":"tags/world-leaders-and-countries","color":"#46AE7C"}],"themes":[{"title":"Countries and world leaders","url":"themes/countries-and-world-leaders","observation":""},{"title":"Indonesia","url":"themes/indonesia","observation":""},{"title":"China","url":"themes/china"},{"title":"Australian foreign policy","url":"themes/australian-foreign-policy","observation":""},{"title":"Relations in the Indo-Pacific","url":"themes/relations-in-the-indo-pacific"}],"catColors":[8,7,6,4,3,1,5],"resColors":[],"tooltip":{"phrase":"In {{year}}, {{value}}% {{split}} said {{category}} was Australia's best friend in Asia."},"view":{"years":[2014,2016,2022,2023],"categories":["China","India","Indonesia","Japan","Singapore","South Korea"]},"slug":"australias-best-friend-in-asia","dictionary":{"years":[2014,2016,2022,2023],"categories":["China","India","Indonesia","Japan","Singapore","South Korea","None / don’t 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