Introduction

The majority of the Asia-Pacific economies have passed a set of milestones that, taken together, constitute an unprecedented transformation of this broad region in a very short time. In their per capita incomes, trade and investment volumes, education levels, and numerous other indicators, many of these societies have exceeded the goals set by the most extravagant dreamers a century ago. Diversity—geographic, cultural, and political—is the overriding reality of the area we will call Pacific Asia, but the accompanying reality is one of interaction and mutual influence that makes a regional construct increasingly relevant and useful. The most geographically diverse area in the Pacific Basin is Oceania, inclusive of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. Until the nineteenth century, China dominated the region with its continental-centered worldview.