The whole 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 - the 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 its composition.
Geographical location and composition of the Asia-Pacific Region
One of the largest geographic associations on the planet is the Asia-Pacific region (decoding - Asia-Pacific region), it covers the entire coast of the Pacific Ocean, as well as a large number of Asian countries. Geographically, the region distinguishes between the American and Asian arcs, as well as Australia and Oceania. APR accounts for about 18.5% of all forests on Earth. The region covers several climatic zones and is very different in relief and mineral reserves. The Asia-Pacific region traditionally includes 46 countries, three more states (Myanmar, Nepal and Mongolia) are often assigned to this zone and from time to time the list of Asia-Pacific countries includes India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Since there is no single, approved list, the number of participants in different interpretations varies.
The history of the Asia-Pacific countries (Asia-Pacific region)
The Asia-Pacific zone is a part of the land that has been inhabited since ancient times, but the colonization of these territories began quite recently. Therefore, the developed countries of Europe regard 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 became known to Europeans over the next 2 centuries. The discoverers of these lands were 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, the Russian pioneers began to develop 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 leaders, followed by the French and Russians. The British and French colonies contributed significantly to the development of the countries of the Pacific region. From the beginning of the 19th century, the United States began to strongly influence the fate of this geographical area. In the mid-19th century, there was a theory in Europe about the decline of civilization, and it was precisely with the APR that many thinkers pinned their hopes on building a new world, this contributes to a significant increase in migrants to the countries of the region from European states. Large colonies are created in Chile, Japan, the Philippines and other countries. The time of empires is gradually passing, but the large states of Europe are making a lot of 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 a result of economic and social development. In the 20th century, Asia-Pacific is becoming an important part of the political map of the world.
Composition dynamics
In the middle of the 20th century, countries in the Asia-Pacific region become a powerful economic and political force in the world. The initial composition was formed in the 30s of the 20th century, when, as a result of the global financial crisis, the question of geographical associations was urgently raised in order to increase the stability and competitiveness of individual states. Japan's aggressive policy has become a catalyst for integration processes, which led to the fact that after the Second World War the first outline of the zone began to take shape. Two global forces - the United States and the USSR tried to recruit allies in the region. Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia and some other states are on the side of America, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos are on the side of the Soviet Union. Redistribution of forces is constantly taking place in the region, new states are being created, regimes are falling and rising. By the second half of the 20th century, approximate outlines of the zone are taking shape. It distinguishes the coasts of two Americas and Australia, Asian countries, not only coastal, but also located in the depths of the mainland, as well as countries located on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Today 52 countries are resistant to the Asia-Pacific region, in addition, there are states that are reckoned among this zone by only a few researchers and figures. However, this is a constantly expanding zone, and it will definitely fail to answer the question which countries are members of the Asia-Pacific region. This is also due to the fact that there is no formal agreement between partner countries.
ATP leaders
Some economists and political scientists call the 21st century the era of the Pacific. This opinion is due to the fact that Asia-Pacific 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 United States, Japan and China. Such states as India, Hong Kong are rapidly approaching them according to certain indicators. Smaller countries, of course, can not be compared with leaders in terms of the volume of their trade operations, but at the same time many of them, within the scope of their scale, show good development results. Significant successes are achieved by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore.
The role of the region in international politics
Today, not a single state in the world can ignore the existence of 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 USA, China and Russia and their struggle to increase their significance in the region is the most important phenomenon in the international sphere. But the role of the Asia-Pacific region is not only in the distribution of spheres of influence between the largest states. It consists in the fact that countries that aspire to a new place in international politics are rapidly growing and developing here. States such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and the DPRK are increasingly declaring their role in the global world. The region is constantly working on regrouping forces, alliances are being formed and associations are appearing whose tasks are to break through to first positions in the world. Today it is impossible to imagine global politics without taking into account the interests of 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 countries, 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 economies of the Asia-Pacific countries show 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 has increased, market predictability has increased, and investment indicators 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 planet’s population lives in this zone and significant annual growth is observed, unlike other parts of the Earth. However, while many countries cannot be proud of a high standard of living, for example, in Bangladesh people still exist for $ 1 a day. But gradually there is a process of improving the quality of life. A feature of the Asia-Pacific Region is that all its participants are aimed at developing internal and external trade and economic ties, which is a priority for these states. In almost all countries, manufacturing and services are growing rapidly, which create a large number of jobs and lead to investment in the region. The Asia-Pacific countries also continue to play an important role in world agriculture and are 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 has greatly lost its importance for this zone and today is trying to catch up. Russia is an active participant and source of many initiatives in organizations such as the SCO, APEC, EurAsEC, and the CIS. But she constantly has to feel the pressure of 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.
The main problems of the Asia-Pacific Region
Of course, the Asia-Pacific region is a living and dynamically developing zone and it cannot but have problems. The main difficulty faced by countries in the region that are actively developing their economies is the environment. In the Asia-Pacific region, the number of forests is rapidly decreasing, water is being polluted, and soils are being depleted. And while these problems do not find a real solution. This state of affairs poses a threat to the entire planet, as there are no separate zones in the ecological system. Another notable APR problem 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 peoples of developing countries want to come closer to the developed countries in terms of quality of life, but there is no opportunity for this. All this is fraught with social conflicts.
