ABSTRACT
The following limits have been selected for the Southwest Pacific Ocean. To the west the limit has been set along the coast of Australia. On the east the margin separates Pitcairn and Easter Islands, in the vicinity of 120° West. The northern border lies close to the equator, and the southern line coincides with parallel 60° South. Australia has been included because it has been active in negotiating maritime boundaries with Papua New Guinea and France, as sovereign power in New Caledonia and because of Australia’s important contribution to the South Pacific Forum. By setting the limits along the equator and 120° West, those areas have been excluded where the influence of the United States and South American countries respectively are predominant. The area enclosed by these boundaries was subject to the colonial activities of Germany, Britain and France, with the sole exception of American Samoa. Germany lost its colonies in the First World War, and Australia and New Zealand played important roles in sharing Britain’s colonial responsibilities. The southern parallel marks the northern limit of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty, and it was considered desirable to avoid consideration of Antarctica, with its peculiar physical, technical and political problems.
