Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union

The Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union is a regional organization dedicated to promoting diplomatic relations and economic development between the countries of East and Southeast Asia.

It is rivaled by the Trans-Eurasian Treaty Organization led by North China and Russia.

The union is similar to ASEAN (Plus Three) in our universe but with more political/economic integration (not as much as the EU, there are still separate currencies), and human rights and democracy are more enforced (but not perfectly).

It is also a lot less cruel than the so-called "Co-Prosperity Sphere" of Imperial Japan.

• 1589 - After the internal "War of Lost Songs," Hatsunia engages in a policy of non-interference - no isolation, but no expansion either. Increased contact with other foreign cultures gradually reduces xenophobic sentiments (but not completely, there are still struggles for civil rights later on).

• 1868 - Creation of the modern Moeji Constitution. The military is placed under civilian management to prevent it from becoming out of control. Over the next several decades, Hatsunia attempts to extend economic influence and trade networks to obtain natural resources for industrialization. The conquest and annexation of Asian neighbors is not pursued, to avoid provoking rebellions (as well as retaliation from other great powers).

• 1884 - Hatsunia supports Korean reformists who overthrow the conservative Joseon government in a coup and end Korea's status as a tributary state of China. This leads to the Sino-Hatsunese War and the establishment of the independent Republic of Formosa as a buffer state in 1885.

• 1884, 1899 - Hatsunia purchases the islands of Micronesia from Spain, where supply stations for merchant ships are established. This is the only overseas territorial acquisition of Hatsunia.

• 1904 - Hatsunia and Korea (which is never annexed) fight against Russia in the Northeast Asian War, leading to the creation of the Republic of Karahto.

• 1935 - The fascist Blue Shirts Society manages to gain power in China, which in 1939 joins the Axis Powers in WWII due to Sino-German cooperation. Hatsunia joins the Allied Powers.

• 1941 - The Honolulu Pact is formed between Hatsunia and the United States.

• 1945 - China is defeated (primarily by the Soviet Union and the US) and split into the communist North China and the capitalist South China, with East Turkestan becoming a Soviet satellite state and Tibet becoming a neutral state. In the decades after the war, many Southeast Asian countries gain independence.

• 1967 - Hatsunia and other East and Southeast Asian countries form the Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union. A cultural expo is held every year.
  

(inspired by an idea from B_Munro on the Alternate History forum)

(Edited from this image)