The Formation of Asia-Pacific Concept and Some Emerging Regional Research Issues

Abstract

The concept of Asia-Pacific as a regional entity did not originate from the inherent natural
factors of geography and social structure, but mainly from the strategic actions of power centers, first from
the United States. This concept started to take shape in the early 20th century and became widely used from
the 70s and 80s of the 20th century. Its evolution is closely associated with the US's Open Door Policy and
the emergence of East Asia as a new center of power. These two factors shaped the Asia-Pacific region as a
geopolitical, geo-economic and strategic security space, a convergence of trade and investment flows,
multilateral economic cooperation institutions as well as power competition between major countries, a
place of dynamic development but also containing security instabilities.