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Article: The unpacified Pacific. (politics in Micronesia)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- January 27, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MISNAMED AS EVER, the Pacific is in ferment. To be precise, the South Pacific. Wherever you look, you will find trouble: in Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu (New Hebrides), Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere throughout the region, there are various mixtures of racial tensions and consequent constitutional problems, post-colonial economic malaise, and Soviet and even Libyan involvement.
The eastern half of the big island of New Guinea, known now as Papua New Guinea, feels the weighty presence of Australia to the south, as does Fiji to the east. New Zealand, too, has its interests in the region. As for New Caledonia, recent French administrations may sometimes wish ...