Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the Pacific Ocean, plus the states in the ocean itself (Oceania).

Although an imprecise geographical descriptor, the term "Asia-Pacific" became popular from the late 1980s as the economies within the heterogeneous region flourished due to increased regional capital flow, trade and other forms of economic and political interaction. The inclusion of Oceanian countries such as Australia and New Zealand is largely based upon the economic relationships between those countries and their East Asian trading partners to the north.

In some contexts, the region may extend further to include major Asian countries, as well as those around the Pacific Rim, stretching from Oceania, up to Russia, and down the western coast of the Americas. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, and is currently considering the admission of India. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/APEC-to-decide-whether-to-let-India-join/2007/01/11/1168105110986.html India's membership issue] ]

Component areas

The Asia-Pacific region generally includes:
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** flag|Hong Kong
** flag|Macau
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* United States Territories -
** flag|American Samoa
** flag|Guam
** flag|Northern Mariana Islands
* Sometimes included -
** flag|India (member of the East Asia Summit)
** flag|Mongolia (landlocked country in East Asia)
** flag|Myanmar (Burma) (member of the ASEAN)
** flag|Russia (the Russian Far East borders the Pacific Ocean)

ee also

* Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
* Geography of Asia
* Geography of Oceania
* East Asian Summit
* Miss Asia-Pacific
* Asia-Pacific Scout Region (World Organization of the Scout Movement)

References

External links

* [http://www.apec.org/ APEC]
* [http://www.apiyn.org/ Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network (APIYN)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/default.stm BBC Asia-Pacific]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/default.htm ABC Radio Australia Asia Pacific]
* [http://australianetwork.com/ Australia Network] (formally "ABC Asia Pacific")