COVID-19 has brought on East Asian countries acute damage and imminent issues of 1) economic recovery, 2) human security, and 3) pandemic control. The TCS (Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat), inaugurated in 2011 by the governments of China, Japan, and the ROK, serves as a hub to facilitate cooperation among the three countries. Now, CJK has 21 ministerial meetings and many other intergovernmental mechanisms. The TCS not only participates in and supports these meetings but also hosts non-governmental events in various sectors, such as business, academia, culture, and local government. Regarding economic recovery, the three countries have ministerial meetings on economy and trade, finance, transport and logistics, and tourism. Some have already been conducted; the three countries will have more. For human security, the three countries have had successful developments in disaster management, health, and environment, among others. To combat COVID-19, governments and experts of CJK are keeping close communication, even at the Health Ministers’ level. In addition, the TCS hosted a webinar on CJK’s responses to COVID-19.
This session aims to introduce concrete cooperative efforts of trilateral cooperation as well as the role of the TCS regarding 1) economic recovery, 2) human security, and 3) pandemic control, and to discuss the future directions for trilateral cooperation on the three issues.