An overwhelming proportion of respondents from the mainland and Taiwan support cooperation by both sides on resolving maritime territorial disputes, a survey conducted by the Global Poll Center and the poll center under China Times suggested.

About 85.3 percent of respondents on the mainland support cooperation across the Taiwan Straits to solve disputes with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, while 51.5 percent of respondents in Taiwan hold similar views.

The rival territorial claims over the Diaoyu Islands by Japan have caught the attention of people across the Taiwan Straits and over 80 percent of those polled in the mainland follow updates of the disputes, while 46.3 percent in Taiwan showed the same interest.

While keeping their interest in the topic, some of them preferred tough measures to solve current disputes, according to the surveys.

Over 90 percent of respondents in the mainland said that the mainland should adopt various measures to safeguard the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands including military intervention when necessary, while 49 percent of them show strong support for the military.

Nearly 41.2 percent of those polled in Taiwan agreed that military measures are acceptable for solving disputes over the Diaoyu Islands.

"The low percentage of support for military intervention reveals that the public is rational about the matter," Tang Chunfeng, a Beijing-based international relations expert, told the Global Times.

The poll reflects a level of restraint displayed by the public but the sentiments could grow into fury if the Japanese government takes further steps in its claims, Tang said. 

Over 52 percent of those polled in the mainland and 40 percent of those polled in Taiwan said that the tension may lead to a military confrontation.

Since Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara said in early April that the metropolitan government plans to buy the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

"His words equate to a declaration of war. Japanese politicians are very irresponsible toward the issue and their careless actions won't have any benefits for ties," Tang said.

China will not allow its territory to be "purchased" by anyone, the Chinese foreign ministry responded on July 7, after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda admitted his government was negotiating with a "private owner" to "nationalize" part of the Diaoyu Islands, Xinhua reported.

The polls were conducted separately in the mainland and Taiwan this week. Over 1,500 people were polled in seven cities in the mainland and 1,515 people polled in Taiwan.

Nearly 78.6 percent of mainland respondents said that both sides should extend their cooperation to other disputes such as the South China Sea, and 47.7 percent of Taiwan respondents agreed on this point.