US seen as most important ally by Indians, greatest threat by Canadians: Pew survey

Indians continue to see the United States as their country’s most important ally, while China remains among their greatest perceived threats, according to a new Pew Research Centre survey released Tuesday.

The study, conducted between February and April this year, found that although fewer than half of Indian respondents named the US as their top ally, it was still the most common choice among all countries listed.

The survey did not offer a pre-selected list, allowing participants to name any country that came to mind.

At the same time, concerns about China have increased among Indians over the past six years. About a third of Indian adults surveyed named China as the greatest threat to their country, ranking it just behind Pakistan.

To be sure, the survey in India was conducted before the recent deadly conflict with Pakistan triggered by the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The share of Indians who see China as their main threat has risen by 16 percentage points since 2019, according to the survey.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, China was widely perceived as the greatest threat by respondents in Australia, Japan, and South Korea as well. China also topped the list of threats among Americans, though they were divided along party lines. Republicans were more likely to name China, while Democrats were more focused on Russia.

Globally, the US emerged as both a prominent ally and a top perceived threat. While it was the most commonly named ally in half of the non-US countries surveyed, it was also listed as the greatest threat in eight countries, including Canada and Mexico.

In India, however, views of the US remain broadly positive despite Washington’s simultaneous diplomatic outreach to Pakistan and China in recent years.

The survey, which included 31,938 adults across 25 countries, aimed to assess public opinion on allies and threats in global geopolitics prior to major escalations in the Middle East and South Asia this summer.