The nations of the Pacific Basin - in East and Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific islands and the Americas - make up the world's largest economic zone, and its most culturally diverse region. In recent years its Asian 'Tiger Economies' have suffered economic collapse and unfinished business from the Cold War has produced continuing conflict and instability. The new edition of this pioneering book traces the postwar inter-relationships of all the rim and island nations. It gives a unique impression of the make-up of the region, and the tensions within it. The book integrates a wide range of information from books and articles; from published and unpublished sources, including recently opened Russian and American archives; and from the first-hand experiences of participants, including those of the author, in Pacific Basin affairs. Vigorously written and strongly argued, no other account brings together all the threads of the development of international relations in this complex and fascinating region.
Abbreviations. Introduction. 1. Postwar Asian reconstruction and political changes 1945-49. 2. Containing the advance of Asian communism, 1959-60. 3. Confrontations and co-operation in East and Southeast Asia, 1961-68.
4. Détente, Disengagement and invasion in East and Southeast Asia, 1969-795. Independence for some Pacific islands, 1945-80. 6. Arresting communism in Latin America, 1945-79. 7. Asian economic expansion and strategic change, 1980-908. 8. Conflicts and coups in the islands 1980-909. 9. War and co-operation in the western hemisphere 1980-9010. 10. The post-Cold War Pacific Basin since 1991. Conclusion.
