The entire globe is divided into several large economic and political zones, one of the most influential and largest of them is the Asia-Pacific region. The decoding of the abbreviation - Asia-Pacific Region - indicates that this association includes states located along the perimeter and in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Let's talk about how this zone differs, and which countries are included in it.
Geographical position and composition of the Asia-Pacific region
One of the largest geographical associations on the planet - Asia-Pacific (decoding - Asia-Pacific region), it covers the entire Pacific coast, as well as a large number of Asian countries. Geographically, the region distinguishes the American and Asian arcs, as well as Australia and Oceania. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 18.5% of all forests on Earth. The region covers several climatic zones and differs greatly in relief and mineral resources. The Asia-Pacific region traditionally includes 46 countries, three morestates (Myanmar, Nepal and Mongolia) are often referred to this zone and periodically include India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia-Pacific region. Since there is no single, approved list, the number of participants in different interpretations varies.
History of Asia-Pacific (Asia-Pacific)
The APR zone is a part of the land that has been inhabited for a long time, but the colonization of these territories began quite recently. Therefore, the developed countries of Europe treat this region as young and developing countries, as a kind of periphery of civilization. However, at the end of the 20th century, the balance of power on the world stage is changing dramatically. The Pacific Ocean was discovered in the 16th century, and the countries of the region become known to Europeans over the next 2 centuries. The pioneers of these lands were the Portuguese and Spanish navigators. In the second half of the 16th century, the British paid attention to this zone and began the colonization of India. In the middle of the 17th century, Russian pioneers began to explore the northern territories. Since the 18th century, all the major powers of the world began to fight for influence in this region, the British became the leaders, followed by the French and Russians. British and French colonies contributed a lot to the development of the countries of the Pacific region. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the United States began to strongly influence the fate of this geographical area. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a theory in Europe about the decline of civilization, and it was with the Asia-Pacific Region that many thinkers pinned their hopes for building a new world, this contributes to a significant increase in migrants to the countries of the region from European states. Large coloniesare created in Chile, Japan, the Philippines and other countries. The time of empires is gradually passing, but the large states of Europe are making great efforts to maintain their influence on the states of the region. In the middle of the 19th century, new countries appeared in the region, created on the wave of liberation from colonization, as well as as a result of economic and social development. In the 20th century, the Asia-Pacific region becomes an important part of the political map of the world.
Roster dynamics
In the middle of the 20th century, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region become a powerful economic and political force in the world. The initial composition is formed in the 30s of the 20th century, when, as a result of the global financial crisis, the issue of geographical associations is acute in order to increase the stability and competitiveness of individual states. The aggressive policy of Japan became a catalyst for integration processes, which led to the fact that after the Second World War, the first outlines of the zone began to take shape. Two global powers - the USA and the USSR tried to recruit allies in the region. Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia and some other states take the side of America, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos go over to the side of the Soviet Union. There is a constant redistribution of forces in the region, new states are being created, regimes fall and rise. By the second half of the 20th century, the approximate outlines of the zone were taking shape. It distinguishes the coasts of the two Americas and Australia, the countries of Asia, not only coastal, but also located in the depths of the mainland, as well ascountries located on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Today, 52 countries are stable in the Asia-Pacific region, in addition, there are states that are ranked as part of this zone only by some researchers and figures. However, this is a constantly expanding zone, and it will definitely not work to answer the question of which countries are in the Asia-Pacific region. This is also due to the fact that there is no formal agreement between partner countries.
APR Leaders
Some economists and political scientists call the 21st century the era of the Pacific region. This opinion is due to the fact that the Asia-Pacific region is the most actively developing region in the world. It is in the countries of this zone that the most dynamic economic growth is observed. The undoubted leaders of the region are the USA, Japan and China. In terms of individual indicators, such states as India and Hong Kong are rapidly approaching them. Smaller countries, of course, cannot match the leaders in terms of their trade volumes, but at the same time, many of them, within their scale, show good development results. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore are making significant progress.
The role of the region in international politics
Today, not a single state in the world can ignore the existence of the Asia-Pacific countries. The interpretation of this concept includes not only geographical aspects, but also political and economic characteristics. The entry into this zone of such political giants as the United States, China and Russia and their struggle to increase their importance in the region ismajor development in the international arena. But the role of the Asia-Pacific region is not only in the distribution of spheres of influence among the largest states. It lies in the fact that countries are rapidly growing and developing here, claiming a new place in international politics. States such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, North Korea are increasingly declaring their role in the global world. The region is constantly working to regroup forces, alliances are made here and associations appear, the tasks of which are to break through to the first positions in the world. Today it is impossible to imagine global politics without taking into account the interests of the ASEAN, SCO or APEC countries. These organizations set the tone not only in the region, but throughout the world, they contribute to the development of small and poor states, they care about the security of the region for world politics and are focused primarily on economic cooperation.
Asia-Pacific economy
In the 21st century, the economy of the Asia-Pacific countries shows the best results, despite several financial crises, growth and development continue here. In most countries of the region, since the beginning of the 21st century, GDP values have increased, market predictability has increased, investment levels and financial system stability have improved. Of course, the region has difficulties, however, in general, its development looks better than in other parts of the world. More than half of the world's population lives in this zone and there is a significant annual increase, unlike other parts of the Earth. True, while many countries cannot be proud of the highstandard of living, for example in Bangladesh people still subsist on $1 a day. But gradually the process of improving the quality of life is underway. A feature of the Asia-Pacific region is that all its participants are aimed at developing internal and external trade and economic ties, this is a priority for these states. In almost all countries, the manufacturing and service industries are growing rapidly, creating a large number of jobs and attracting investment to the region. Also, Asia-Pacific countries continue to play an important role in world agriculture and are the owners of a large number of useful resources.
Relations with Russia
For Russia, the Asia-Pacific region is the most important region, for the role in which it has been fighting for many years. It is worth noting that at the end of the 20th century the country lost much of its importance for this zone and today it is trying to catch up. Russia is an active participant and source of many initiatives in such organizations as the SCO, APEC, EurAsEC, CIS. But she constantly has to experience pressure from countries such as China, Japan and the United States, which do not want to give up the role of leader of the Russian Federation. Therefore, cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries for Russia is one of the most important strategic tasks for the coming decades.
Main problems in Asia-Pacific
Of course, the Asia-Pacific region is a lively and dynamically developing zone and it cannot but have problems. The main difficulty faced by the countries of the region, which are actively developing their economies, is ecology. In the Asia-Pacific region, the number of forests is rapidly declining, pollutedwater, soils are depleted. And while these problems do not find a real solution. This state of affairs poses a threat to the entire planet, since there are no separate zones in the ecological system. Another notable problem in the Asia-Pacific region is social development. In many countries, the population is growing rapidly, people tend to move to live in cities that are not ready for such migration. The people of developing countries want to approach the quality of life of developed countries, but there are no opportunities for this. All this is fraught with social conflicts.
Prospects for development
Despite the existing difficulties, no one can deny the huge prospects of the Asia-Pacific countries. The deciphering of this already economic concept is receiving new interpretations today. There is a redistribution of forces and significant events should be expected from the region. The prospects for the development of this zone are associated with the growing role of China, India, and the countries of Oceania, which are increasingly entering into new interstate alliances and claiming to be the leader in the region.
