ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book seeks to inform on some of the international legal issues and challenges facing the South Pacific and its varying subject matter reflects the diversity of those issues and challenges. It explores a variety of issues in international law. The book seeks to relate them to the particular context of the region. The book considers the dilemma posed by mass refugee flows, wherein the tension is perhaps best symbolized by Australia's treatment of the Tampa boat people and their subsequent relocation to Nauru. It also considers the issue of transnational crime in the South Pacific and the efforts of Pacific Forum countries to suppress such threats within a framework of international obligations. The book looks to the implications of international terrorism in the South Pacific. It deals with the challenges of development and international trade in island states of the South Pacific.
