A Study on Regional Cooperation in the Pacific Basin

Abstract

The notion of regional cooperation has been fashionable for at least two decades now. Particularly , regional cooperation in the Pacific Basin is very important to the regional balances of security, stability, and peace in this area. The concept of Pacific Easin cooperation is aimed at promoting international cooperation mainly in such economic areas as trade, investment, resource, energy, transportion, and communication as well as mutual understanding, a prerequisite to such cooperation, through internatiora1 exchange of education, academic research, and cultural activities, thus strengthening the prosperous and harmonious relations of the Pacific region. This concept is rooted in the deepening interdependence in economic and other areas among the Pacific countries in recent years and envisages the Pacific development in long-term perspective beyond this century. This essay surveys the economic interdependence of the market economies of the Pacific Easin and examines the factors that have shaved the development of common regional goals such as trade and other economic issues. The basic interests of the regional powers are ther assessed in terms of the possibilities of Pacific Basin cooperation. As one might expect, apan is of pivotal concern for any sense of regional cooperation and the United States is also a strong driving force for promoting regional ccoperation in this area. A number of research and studies clearly show that the Pacific Basin is now developing in this direction. In this context, we might say that the Pacific cooperation is on the historica tide.