Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat

Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Chinese: 三国合作秘书处 Japanese: 三国協力事務局 Korean: 삼국 협력 사무국 三國協力事務局
Logo of TCS
Headquarters		Seoul
Official languages		English Working languages: Chinese Japanese Korean
Membership		China  Japan  South Korea
Leaders
•	Secretary-General	Yang Houlan
•	Deputy Secretary-Generals	Lee Jong-heon Akima Umezawa
Establishment
•	Established	1 September 2011
Website www.tcs-asia.org

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) is an international organization established with a vision to promote peace and common prosperity among the China, Japan, and the South Korea.^[1] Upon the agreement signed and ratified by each of the three governments, the TCS was officially inaugurated in Seoul, September 2011.^[2] On the basis of equal participation, each government shares 1/3 of total operational budget.

Background

1999 - Proposed by the Japanese Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi, the leaders of the three countries joined for a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN+3 Summit. This meeting marked the first step for developing the trilateral cooperation and its framework.^[3]
2008 - The first Trilateral Summit was held in Fukuoka.
2009 – South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed the establishment of a permanent secretariat at the 2nd Trilateral Summit held in Beijing, China.
2010 – Agreement on the Establishment of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat^[4] was signed by the leaders of the three countries.
2011 – Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat was established in Seoul.^[5]

Organization

The TCS consists of a Consultative Board and four Departments. The Consultative Board, which is the executive decision-making body of the organization, is composed of a Secretary-General and two Deputy Secretary-Generals. The Secretary-General is appointed on a two-year rotational basis in the order of the South Korea, Japan, and China. Each country other than the one of the Secretary-General nominates a Deputy Secretary-General respectively. Under the Consultative Board, there are four Departments of Political Affairs, Economic Affairs, Socio-Cultural Affairs, and Management. The Four Departments are composed of officials seconded by the three countries, and General Service Staff recruited through open competition from the three countries.

TCS Secretary-General

1. Shin Bong-gil (1 September 2011 - 1 September 2013)
   • Rui Matsukawa & Mao Ning (Deputies)
2. Shigeo Iwatani (1 September 2013 - 1 September 2015)
   • Chen Feng & Lee Jong-heon (Deputies)
3. Yang Houlan (1 September 2015 - present)
   • Lee Jong-heon & Akima Umezawa (Deputies)

Functions and Activities

Functions

1. Provide administrative and technical support for the operation and management of such trilateral consultative mechanisms among the three countries as the Trilateral Summit Meeting, the Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the Three-Party Committee and other ministerial meetings, and the Trilateral Senior Foreign Affairs Officials’ Consultation and to send, if necessary, its representatives to attend major consultative mechanisms.
2. Communicate and coordinate with the three countries and, if necessary, with other international organizations.
3. Explore and identify potential cooperative projects among the three countries and report those projects to the relevant consultative mechanisms for adoption.
4. Evaluate the cooperative projects and draft reports on them, compile necessary documents into database, and submit annual progress reports to the Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting for approval.
5. Conduct research on important issues related to the trilateral cooperation, manage the Secretariat’s website, and promote understanding of the trilateral cooperation.^[6]

Activities

Participation in trilateral consultative mechanisms

• Trilateral Summit, ASEAN+3 Summit
• Other high-level and working-level trilateral mechanisms including the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting, Culture Ministers’ Meeting, the Tripartite Health Ministers’ Meeting (THMM), and the Tripartite Environmental Ministers’ Meeting (TEMM)

Promoting trilateral cooperation / Cooperative projects

• International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation (IFTC)
• Trilateral Table Top Exercise (TTX) on Disaster Management
• CJK FTA Seminar
• Trilateral Business Networking Events
• Trilateral Journalist Exchange Program
• Young Ambassador Program
• TCS Monthly Lectures
• TCS Open House

Collaboration with other organizations

• Maintaining relationship and expanding network with other regional and international organizations

Research and Publications^[7]

• TCS Annual Reports
• Trilateral Statistics booklets
• Other publications relating to political, economic and socio-cultural cooperation
• Compilation of information database regarding trilateral cooperation

References