THE PROSPECTS FOR ECONOMIC AND MILITARY SECURITY IN AUSTRALASIA

Australasia consists of the two modern western states, Australia and N ew Zealand, the many small and developing states of Oceania, and the ' internationalized' Antarctic continent. Relations between the states w ithin the sub-region are generally good. The diversity within the sub- system combined with its relative geographic isolation has generated w ide variations in definition of national security. Australia and New Z ealand have regionally significant armed forces and robust economies, For those countries security is seen through the traditional realist l enses, although neither defines any immediate threat. In Oceania, howe ver, security is defined by the Pacific island states almost without a ny concept of defense against a military threat. Rather, security invo lves preventing or mitigating the effects of economic vulnerability, r esource and environmental degradation, and, to a lesser extent, ensuri ng national stability. Only New Caledonia and Bougainville are potenti al albeit unlikely sources of wider regional instability. Barring sign ificant activity in those places, Australasia will not become a major factor in wider Asian security considerations.