The Asia-Pacific area varies in space depending on context, nevertheless it generally consists of East Asia, Oceania, the Russian Far East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is obvious that since World War II, Britain, in contrast to France and the United States , conceived of Oceania as a area of sovereign nations living in a spirit of commonwealth. This paper covers the region from Irian Jaya within the west to Galapagos Islands and Easter Island in the east.
