China’s emergence as a great power is increasingly being felt by its neighbours. What will be the impact on regional security as Beijing begins to shape the world it wants? South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Japan are beginning to find out.

Actions such as the recent boycotting of South Korean businesses over the US-backed THAAD missile defence system are giving China a reputation as an unreliable trading partner. But what other coercion tactics do China’s leaders have?

Dr Amy King of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at ANU recently spoke with Evan Keeble of the AIIA National Office. They discussed China’s relations with South Korea, its recent active participation in and creation of multilateral institutions, and what is guiding China’s recent approach towards Japan.

Dr Amy King is a senior lecturer in the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at ANU. Her 2016 book, China-Japan Relations after World War Two, explains how and why Japan became China’s most important economic partner in the aftermath of war.

Interviewed by AIIA National Office intern Evan Keeble.