South Korea, China, Japan Call for Stronger Supply Chain and Security Cooperation at ASEAN Meeting

South Korea, China and Japan on Thursday called for stronger cooperation on supply chains and food and energy security at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related ministerial meeting amid the continued Middle East crisis, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The consensus was reached during the 27th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, which brought together top diplomats from the 11 ASEAN member states and the three Northeast Asian countries to discuss ways to advance practical cooperation, according to the ministry.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attended the meeting, while China was represented by Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.

"Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have exposed vulnerabilities which had long been simply hypothetical. They have placed both our food and energy security under severe strain," Cho said.

"Yet, paradoxically, this crisis also opens a window of opportunity for ASEAN Plus Three to once again demonstrate the value of this mechanism," he added.

Cho highlighted South Korea's role as the largest contributor to a regional mechanism for providing rice assistance during food emergencies, and called for expanded cooperation under the framework to better address complex food security challenges.

The minister also called for concrete cooperation measures to diversify supply chains, while pledging Seoul's continued contributions to the ASEAN Power Grid project, the nuclear energy field and regional energy security efforts in cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Motegi stressed the grouping's role in addressing challenges such as energy and food security, aging populations, and disaster prevention and response.

China's Hua said the world has entered a period of "turbulence and transformation," with geopolitical challenges affecting energy and food supply chains as well as regional security and resilience.

Cho also sought continued support for Seoul's efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

"The Republic of Korea will continue to make every effort to achieve peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula by resuming dialogue with the DPRK," Cho said in his opening remarks, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Since North Korea declared inter-Korean ties as those between "two hostile states" in late 2023, the two Koreas' relations have remained strained. Pyongyang has not responded to Washington's offer for talks while deepening ties with Russia and China.

North Korea also skipped this year's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for the second consecutive year, despite the forum being a rare multilateral security dialogue involving major powers such as the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

"The participating countries shared the view that their existing cooperation mechanisms should be developed into more practical frameworks facing external shocks and global supply chain disruptions," the ministry said in a release.

They also agreed that issues concerning the Korean Peninsula should be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy, it added.