Australians see no reason to side with the United States or Japan in any future conflict with China, overwhelmingly believing the best strategy is to remain neutral.

Even faced with a personal plea from US President Barack Obama on the basis of the US military alliance, more than two-thirds of Australians want Prime Minister Tony Abbott to stay out of a regional war.

The results of a new poll conducted by the Australia-China Relations Institute comes as the government's prepares to spend billions on sophisticated submarines, and Japan is heavily tipped as a supplier.

The polling research is focused on Australians' attitude towards disputed territory in the East China Sea, which Japan claims as the Senkaku islands but China calls Diaoyu islands.

Defence analysts see the feud as a critical flashpoint in the region. In December Japan complained that two Chinese warships had come within 70 kilometres of the uninhabited but resource-rich islands.