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Oceania & Pacific

Changing Geometrics of Asia-Pacific and the Containment of China
Sameer Jafri - 1/8/2012
Asia-Pacific, as the name suggests, refers to a large part of the earth, whereby countries and continents surround the vast Pacific Ocean. More than being merely a geographical entity, this region has many strategic, economic & political connotations to it. Groupings like ASEAN, ASEAN+3, EAS, APEC etc. provide the various contexts in which the politics, economics and security of the region is defined. Importance of this region can be gauged from the fact that the countries in Asia-Pacific account for over 40% of the world’s population, 55% of the world’s GDP and about 45% of global trade. And these numbers are rapidly growing.

Cataclysmic Developments Likely to unfold in Asia Pacific in 2012
Rajaram Panda, Ph.D. - 10/19/2011
The Asia-Pacific region is poised to see major developments in the year 2012, which may likely to reshape foreign and security policies of some countries. The developments in some could be tumultuous and one can expect either turbulence or drastic policy change in many countries, which might lead to rethinking of strategies in other countries in the region as well. There are already hotspots in the region which create situation for uneasy peace. The South China Sea is a theatre for potential flashpoints. Japan-South Korea dispute over Takeshima/Dokdo Islands in the East China Sea is disturbing.

Ties That Bind: Compact Agreement Between Palau and US
Renita Brooks, RN, BSN - 1/18/2005
As the heads of CBS begin to market their new version of its hit TV series "Survivor," I thought it may be interesting to explore this tiny island community's political background and investigate its history, in particular its ties to the U.S. Many mainlanders are unaware of the political and social backgrounds of countries we have free-hold pacts with, the nation of Palau being just one.