The 'South' Pacific Countries Envisaged from the Viewpoint of the East Asian Economy (Economic and Political Change in the Asian-Pacific Area)

The aim of this paper is to analyse economic situation of Pacific islands countries in the international setting and to consider in brief their relationship with the East Asian economies． In this paper， the economic and political aspects of islands countries in the‘South’Pacific Ocean are taken up to be considered from the viewpoint of international economy． The ‘South’Pacific Ocean is defined here as the area ranging from 130 degrees of east and west Longitudes， and between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn． lncluded are there Nesias： Micronesia， Melanesia and Polynesia． The author is， in particular， interested in Micronesia and Melanesia． There are 17 countries in the‘South’Pacific Ocean． By a coincidence， the same number of countries are there in the‘East’Asia， a region ranging from Japan to Indonesia． The Asian economies heve grown faster than countries in the‘South’Pacific Ocean． The tSouth’Pacific countries are not so vigorous， but they have also grown；especially， Papua New Guinea and Fuji are in a good economic condition， compared with other independent countries in the ‘South’Pacific， and are establishing their own manufacturing industries． As it is， Micronesia is under the reign of America． Melanesia is deeply influenced by Australia and Newzealand and partly by France and America． In another words， they are economically and politically supported and influenced by ex－suzerain countries． Recently Japan is becoming a big supplier of official economic aid and investment to islands countries． Japan’s commodities trade with them are growing． Other East Asian countries are also trading commodities with them， the amount of which is expected continuing to grow and East Asian peoples are increasing who work in Miconesia， especially in its west part． The economic relation is being strengthened between the‘South’Pacific aqd the East Asia countries． In the furure， some of Melanesian countries， e． g． Popua New Guinea， might join the South・East Economic Area， though it might be difficult presently． Also， some of the ‘South’Pacific islands countries might join the APEC as a member， making up a strong tie with the ASEAN countries in the future