The term "Pacific Basin" includes both the Pacific Rim and theislands in the Pacific Ocean, which are often ignored in Pacific Rim frameworks.[1][2] The "Pacific Basin" has also been used to exclusively refer to the islands in the Pacific Ocean (sometimes includingAustralia,New Guinea,New Zealand, thePhilippines and other large landmasses), but not the mainland rims ofAsia and theAmericas, which are separately referred to as the Pacific Rim under this framework.[3][4] The term "The Pacific" often takes on a similar meaning, with the mainland rims of Asia and the Americas being excluded, and other large landmasses sometimes being included depending on the context.[5] Some rare definitions of the Pacific Rim define it to exclude both the Asian and American mainlands and also the islands in the central Pacific. This defines the Pacific Rim as only including insular areas which are outside the main insular cultural zones ofMelanesia,Micronesia andPolynesia, such as Australia,Japan,Indonesia, the Philippines, theAleutian Islands and theGalápagos Islands.[6]
APEC and the CPTPP are the two largest economic-based Pacific Rim organizations, although in 2024, the CPTPP admitted theUnited Kingdom as its first non-Pacific Rim member,[8] with other non-Pacific Rim countries likeUkraine,Uruguay and theUnited Arab Emirates expressing interest in joining.[9] Australia, New Zealand andPapua New Guinea are the only countries who are members of both APEC (an organization dedicated to large Pacific Rim countries) and thePacific Islands Forum (an organization dedicated to smaller Pacific island countries).[10][11] Australia and New Zealand are also CPTPP members.
In 1989, an Australian miniseries titledMan on the Rim: The Peopling of the Pacific debuted, focusing on the human origins of the Pacific Rim, including the islands. The series also had a book counterpart released, and was hosted by doctorAlan Thorne from theNational University of Australia.[12][13] In 1997, a British miniseries titledFull Circle premiered, hosted byMichael Palin. For the series, Palin traveled across many of the countries on the Pacific Rim, visiting Australia,Bolivia (which is landlocked but used to have Pacific access),Canada,Chile,China,Colombia, Indonesia, Japan,Malaysia,Mexico, New Zealand,Peru, the Philippines,Russia,South Korea, theUnited States andVietnam. Palin also visited some of the outlying islands of these countries, including Chile'sJuan Fernández Islands, andKodiak Island andLittle Diomede Island, which are part of the U.S. state ofAlaska. Little Diomede Island was chosen as a location due to being the northernmost point of the Pacific Basin, as it is situated on theBering Strait connecting Pacific waters toArctic waters.[14]
This is a list of countries that are generally considered to be a part of the Pacific Rim or Pacific Basin, since they lie along thePacific Ocean.[15]Arranging from north to south, west to east in directional order.
Rogers, Theodore S., and Robert L. Snakenber. "Language Studies in the Schools: A Pacific Prospect." EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 21 (1982): 12–15.
Wedemeyer, Dan J., and Anthony J. Pennings, Eds.Telecommunications—Asia, Americas, Pacific: PTC 86. "Evolution of the Digital Pacific." Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Pacific Telecommunications Council: Honolulu, Hawaii, 1986. ED 272 147.
West, Philip, and Thomas Jackson.The Pacific Rim and the Bottom Line. Bloomington, Indiana, 1987.
