Far from being small island states, Pacific
Island countries are showing themselves as large ocean states, with vast
fisheries, potential seabed resources, and increasingly important
geostrategic positioning - as the range of military bases dotted
throughout the region can attest.
However, just as the region is showing
its importance, Western influence is waning. When the larger Western
powers pulled out of the region following the end of the Cold War (the
United Kingdom, for example, closed three South Pacific High Commissions
in 2006), they turned to Australia and New Zealand to "manage" the area
for the West. Ms. Cleo Paskal discusses how and why this happened and
what are the options for the West in this new battle for the Pacific.
Recorded at the East-West Center office in Washington, D.C., October 3, 2013
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