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Lore & Background

Various intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations focus on the Pacific Rim, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of Pacific Rim Universities, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the East-West Center, Sustainable Pacific Rim Cities, the Pacific Basin Institute and the Institute of Asian Research. APEC and the CPTPP are the two largest economic-based Pacific Rim organizations. In 2024, the CPTPP admitted the United Kingdom as its first non-Pacific Rim member, with other non-Pacific Rim countries like Argentina, Ukraine, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates expressing interest in joining. The CPTPP is a legally binding free trade agreement, unlike APEC, which is based around general economic cooperation. The CPTPP was first signed in 2016 as the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), and included the United States but not China. The TPP shifted on January 23, 2017, when newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally pulling the United States out of the deal. Following the American withdrawal, the remaining eleven members salvaged the initiative by signing the renamed CPTPP in March 2018, which officially entered into force in December 2018.

In Their Own Story

In April 2011, an organization called the Pacific Alliance was formed among Latin American Pacific Rim countries. The Pacific Alliance currently has four full members: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Costa Rica and Ecuador are pursuing full membership, while Singapore has become the first external country to obtain Associated State status. Other non-Latin American Pacific countries (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Korea) are candidates for Associated State status, while countries such as Japan, China, and Indonesia participate only as observers. It is sometimes seen as a counterpart to the Mercosur trade agreement among Atlantic Latin American countries. The Pacific Alliance is generally more outward-looking toward Asia-Pacific trade and liberalisation, whereas Mercosur, founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, has historically focused more heavily on South American regional integration and a common market.

Reader's Guide

15 fully independent nations in the Pacific Rim have no land borders to other countries: Australia, Fiji, Japan, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Aside from Samoa and Tonga, all of these nations are in the Eastern Hemisphere, with Fiji, Kiribati and New Zealand having land in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Brunei, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste are considered divided island countries due to having land borders, while Singapore naturally has no land borders, but is connected to Malaysia through a man-made bridge and causeway. Taiwan also has no land borders but its sovereignty is disputed. The smallest country in the Pacific Rim is Nauru, while the largest is Russia. The largest country which only borders Pacific waters is China. Some of the furthest cities from the Pacific Ocean which technically belong to Pacific Rim countries include the European Russian city of Kaliningrad, Ürümqi in western China, the U.S. city of Portland in the eastern state of Maine, and the Canadian cit

Did You Know?

• The CPTPP admitted the United Kingdom as its first non-Pacific Rim member in 2024, with Argentina, Ukraine, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates expressing interest in joining.
• The TPP shifted on January 23, 2017, when newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally pulling the United States out of the deal.
• Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are the only countries who are members of both APEC and the Pacific Islands Forum.
• The smallest country in the Pacific Rim is Nauru, while the largest is Russia.
• Japan's Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival is exclusively dedicated to films from the 46 states in the Pacific Rim/Basin.

Geographic Scope and Definitional Complexity

The Pacific Rim encompasses the lands bordering the Pacific Ocean, a region that roughly aligns with the geologically active Ring of Fire. However, defining its precise boundaries is surprisingly complex due to varying terminologies. The term "Pacific Basin" often expands this scope to include islands within the ocean itself, which are sometimes overlooked in stricter Pacific Rim frameworks. Conversely, some definitions restrict the concept exclusively to these island nations while excluding the mainland coasts of Asia and the Americas entirely. In rare instances, the definition narrows further to include only specific insular areas outside major cultural zones like Melanesia or Polynesia, such as Japan, Indonesia, or the Aleutian Islands. This semantic fluidity means that depending on the context, "The Pacific" might refer to a vast economic zone including Australia and New Zealand, or a much smaller collection of remote islands, creating distinct interpretations for political, cultural, and geographical discussions.

Economic Dominance and Trade Networks

As a global commercial powerhouse, the Pacific Rim drives international shipping with an unmatched concentration of maritime infrastructure. The region is home to twenty-nine of the world's fifty busiest container ports, effectively controlling the majority of the top ten busiest hubs globally, with only Dubai's Port of Jebel Ali breaking this streak in the ninth spot. This economic density has fostered major intergovernmental organizations dedicated to regional cooperation and trade liberalization. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) focuses on large economies within the region, while the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) serves as a critical trade bloc. Notably, the CPTPP recently expanded its reach beyond traditional geographic boundaries by admitting the United Kingdom in 2024, signaling a shift where non-Pacific nations like Ukraine and Uruguay are now expressing interest in joining these vital economic frameworks.

Institutional Frameworks and Regional Cooperation

Beyond pure economics, the Pacific Rim is supported by a diverse array of organizations addressing education, environmental sustainability, and cultural exchange. Entities such as the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the East-West Center facilitate academic collaboration across national borders. Environmental stewardship is addressed through groups like the Sustainable Pacific Rim Cities and the Pacific Basin Institute, while security cooperation is exemplified by RIMPAC naval exercises coordinated by the United States Pacific Command. Cultural unity is celebrated at events like Japan's Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival, which showcases cinema from forty-six countries within the basin. Interestingly, membership in these bodies can be exclusive; for instance, only Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea hold dual membership in both APEC and the Pacific Islands Forum, highlighting the nuanced distinction between large mainland economies and smaller island nations within the broader regional architecture.

Cultural Representation and Media Exploration

The human story of the Pacific Rim has been captured vividly through documentary media that explores its vast geography and diverse populations. In 1989, an Australian miniseries titled "Man on the Rim" investigated the peopling of the region, accompanied by a book hosted by Dr. Alan Thorne. A decade later, Michael Palin's British series "Full Circle" took viewers on an extensive journey across numerous nations, including landlocked Bolivia due to its historical Pacific access, as well as coastal giants like China and Chile. Palin's travels extended to remote outlying islands such as Little Diomede in Alaska, chosen specifically for its status as the northernmost point of the Pacific Basin where it meets Arctic waters via the Bering Strait. These media efforts have helped define the region not just by maps, but through the lived experiences of people and the unique challenges of traversing such a massive, interconnected oceanic space.