The Yoon Suk-yeol government of South Koread its Indo-Pacific diplomatic manifesto to promote “freedom, peace, and prosperity” in the region, adding prosperity component to the US-led drive for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” The Yoon government has shifted from the “structural ambiguity” to “‘structural clarity” in navigating the increasingly intensifying U.S.-China rivalry by aligning with the US-initiated Indo-Pacific Construct but does not intend to decouple completely from China. Despite South Korea’sd efforts toward a rules-based inclusive free trade order in the Indo-Pacific for needed supply chain resilience, South Korea faces rising protectionism, assertive and sometimes unilateral, from both the US and China ranging from inflation reduction act, export bans of high tech intermediate goods, and freeze of Korean cultural products, to name just a few. The industrial and trade policies adopted by the two super powers on the basis of their own national interests have negative impacts on intra- regional supply chain resilience. Given this competitive protectionism by the two super powers, what the middle powers can do about it? How the security issues in the US-China rivalry play out its role in the security?trade nexus in the Indo-Pacific? Can they form a collective voice to prevent the protectionists’ tide? What can they work together to produce the regional public goods?