Faced with the escalating trade protectionism of the United States, the three Southeast Asian countries are seeking to unite together to warm up. This is not only an economic self-help, but also an inevitable choice for regional strategic autonomy.

There is a Japanese saying that no one can deal with a crying child. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama used this metaphor to describe Trump's tariff policy at the 13th World Peace Forum.

In his view, it is futile to use logic or economic theories to persuade the United States to abandon tariffs.

In July, 2005, at this international forum held in Tsinghua University, Beijing, Yukio Hatoyama pointed out surprisingly that Japan and other East Asian countries should get rid of their dependence on the United States as soon as possible and enhance their strategic autonomy, especially to strengthen the cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea.

Trump implemented a tougher trade policy in his second term. According to China.com, if their tariff measures come to fruition, Japan will face 25% tariffs on automobiles and parts and 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Yukio Hatoyama said at the forum that Trump-style American responsibility grid may also continue for a long time, which still stems from the decline of the United States 'global share and the accumulation of economic problems.

In March 2025, the cooperation mechanism of China-Japan-Korea was fully launched, according to data from China Economic Network, the total economy of China-Japan-Korea accounted for 24% of the world, but the regional trade dependence was only 16.5%, which is far below the EU's 65.7%.

On March 22, the 11th China-Japan-Korea Foreign Ministers¡¯ Meeting was held in Tokyo, and on March 30, the 13th Economic and Trade Ministers¡¯ Meeting was held in Seoul.

Data from the China Institute of International Studies show that if the free trade agreement between China, Japan and South Korea is reached, it will bring an increase of 0.3 to 1.1% to the GDP of the three countries.

The service trade volume of the three countries in 2023 will exceed US$1.63 trillion, but the service trade proportion of China, Japan and China and South Korea is less than 8%, which is lower than the global average of 24%.

The diplomatic confirmation of the three countries is the implementation of the China-Japan-Korea cooperation outlook for the next decade, and is planned to hold the 10th meeting of leaders within the year, according to an official plan, the three countries will promote the exchange of 40 million people by 2030.

The Ministerial Meeting agreed to accelerate negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement and commit to a comprehensive, high-quality and reciprocal agreement.

The researcher pointed out that China-Japan-Korea cooperation is still facing a big problem of mutual trust, the feelings of the public opinion are also very fragile, and the dynamics of cooperation weaken three challenges.

During the talks, the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea also reiterated the need to strengthen cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea, showing that the two countries are still in a strategic dilemma, but the pace of economic and trade cooperation between the three countries is already unstoppable.

The APEC meeting is about to be held, and China-Japan-Korea's enhanced cooperation will inject stability into the regional economy.

Global trade protectionism is constantly on the rise. The three Southeast Asian countries have chosen open cooperation rather than isolated confrontation, and common development rather than a zero-sum game.

This is full of challenges, but the direction has been clear. Only by strengthening regional cooperation can we control our own destiny in the midst of changes in the global situation.

Source: China Network, China Economic Network, China International Issues Research Institute