In a world where geopolitical fault lines are reshaping the rules of commerce, economic ministers from Southeast Asia and South Korea gathered in Manila in late September to affirm that interdependence, not isolation, is their chosen response to instability. With $226.1 billion in two-way trade already anchoring the relationship, the two sides moved to modernize a long-standing free trade agreement and launch new partnerships around supply chain resilience, green economy, and digital transformation. The meeting was less a celebration of prosperity than a sober reckoning with its fragility — an