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Focus Asia: Decoding Chinese, Japanese and South Korean strategic ambitions...

FOCUS ASIA: Decoding Chinese, Japanese and South Korean strategic ambitions, approaches and challenges in the era of evolving strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific: A Comparative Study

Dr Alica Kizekova - Lecturer. School of Media, Creative Arts, and Social Inquiry. Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University

This comparative study deciphers the strategic ambitions, approaches, and challenges of China, Japan, and South Korea amidst the evolving strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. It examines historical legacies, the North Korean issue, Taiwan Strait tensions, and the impact of the Ukraine conflict. The paper employs neorealism and social constructivism to interpret state strategies and tools. China's Belt and Road Initiative and military modernisation in the South China Sea reflects its aim for regional dominance, analysed through neorealism. Japan navigates its complex history and balances economic ties with China against its security alliance with the US, focusing on technological innovation and regional partnerships, understood through social constructivism. South Korea's strategy for national security and stability, influenced by its proximity to North Korea, emphasises economic development, technological progress, and regional diplomacy. However, cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and with other aligned nations, is challenged by historical disputes.