At the ASEAN + China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on the 27th, the participating countries agreed to apply the “Chiang Mai Initiative” mechanism to natural disasters and negotiated in the field of promoting food security. According to the website of Japan Television, during the meeting, the Japanese Foreign Minister said: “I hope to have good communication with China and South Korea to respond to ASEAN’s expectations.”
The official website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows that China, Japan and South Korea all expressed their hope to continue to promote cooperation between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) and emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation. The three countries also issued statements on priority cooperation areas such as health, food security, financial cooperation, green transformation and digital transformation.
A visiting researcher at the Japan Research Center of Liaoning University told the Global Times on the 28th that Japan is expected to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries in the fields of finance and food security. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan stated at the beginning of this year that Japan and ASEAN have started negotiations on the realization of cross-border QR code payment interconnection and interoperability cooperation in 2025. This move is not only to facilitate mutual visits of tourists, but also to strengthen financial ties with ASEAN countries.
However, researchers believe that Japan’s strengthening of cooperation with ASEAN also has its own agenda, hoping to win over ASEAN and compete with China for influence over ASEAN.