WELLINGTON, Jan. 23 -- The overwhelming majority of New Zealanders want to keep out of any possible conflict in the East China Sea and they do not want their government to even offer verbal support for anyone, according to a newspaper poll on Thursday.

Almost 70 percent of respondents wanted New Zealand to stay out of any conflict over the Diaoyu islands (known as the Senkaku islands in Japan), the New Zealand Herald reported on the results of its DigiPoll Survey.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully had declined to comment on the poll results, said the report.

He and Prime Minister John Key had taken a very cautious position and issued no statements on the matter, it said.