Trilateral East Asian collaboration calls for wisdom

To the United States and its key Western allies, a crucial component of what they present as a global geopolitical game between "democracies and authoritarian regimes" is Japan and the Republic of Korea acting as their bridgehead on China's doorstep.

Both Tokyo and Seoul have made apparently participatory moves substantiating that scenario. The Japanese government has been particularly responsive to Washington's attempt to suppress China's semiconductor industry. Seoul has rapidly repaired alliances with the US and Japan and come up with its own "Indo-Pacific" strategy, formally embracing their version of "values diplomacy".

These developments have stretched taut their respective relations with Beijing and soured the feelings between their peoples and the Chinese people. As a consequence, the prospects for China-Japan-ROK cooperation have seemingly dimmed by the day. What then of the vision of East Asian economic integration?

The message from Monday's International Forum on China-Japan-ROK Cooperation was positive in that regard, with all three parties emphasizing the significance of trilateral cooperation.

Stating the necessity and importance of trilateral cooperation in various fields, both Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin told the meeting via video-link that China, Japan and the Republic of Korea have common responsibilities for ensuring peace and prosperity in East Asia and beyond.

But as economic and trade ties are being increasingly politicized by Washington, keeping trilateral economic and trade cooperation on the right course itself will be a challenge. Not to mention to expand or upgrade it. That was why the senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi urged Tokyo and Seoul to "foster a sense of strategic autonomy, maintain regional unity and stability, resist the return of the Cold War mentality, and be free from the coercion of bullying and domination" while addressing the forum in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Monday. Wang, citing the "experience and wisdom" the countries demonstrated when they rose above ideological differences to establish diplomatic relations with China, called on Seoul and Tokyo to cherish the "mature mechanisms of sub-regional cooperation" put into place since the three governments kick-started trilateral cooperation more than two decades ago.

Interference from outside the region has obviously been a prominent stumbling block for that. But the three governments should work together to build trust and advance trilateral cooperation.

As trilateral cooperation on the economy and trade has become increasingly overshadowed by "national security" and geopolitical concerns, prosperity is tied to non-economic factors like never before. Successfully navigating the messy geopolitical landscape will be essential to fulfilling the three countries' collective aspiration for regional economic integration. That will require the three parties to demonstrate wisdom.