ABSTRACT
The Pacific Community is attracting more attention from governments around the world. The Pacific also has a very important strategic interest. There are some groupings within the Pacific, the most notable of which is ASEAN. There is also the South Pacific Forum, composed of Australia, New Zealand, and a large number of small island states. Although members of the Pacific Community recognize that there is a security interest that is common to all nations that want to work out their own futures in peace, the idea of a Pacific Community has not revolved around the security interest. The South Pacific Forum's main purpose is to give the countries of that area a joint political voice, which had been denied them under previous arrangements. There are some modest things that countries like Australia and New Zealand can readily do for the smallest states.
