Although Papua New Guinea is positioned near Southeast Asia, it’s more influenced by Oceanian culture and customs. Politically, Papua New Guinea also cooperates more with countries within the Oceania region. Papua New Guinea can be a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional organization made up of nations in Oceania. At the forum, Papua New Guinea joins other countries to debate issues similar to climate change, security and trade.
The reasons for the formation of regions and regionalism usually are not only geographical, but in addition cultural and historical, similar to the creation of Southeast Asia from ASEAN and the Pacific Island countries from the Pacific Islands Forum. This can be the rationale why Papua New Guinea shouldn’t be included within the Southeast Asian region. A region itself is an area or region that has special characteristics that distinguish it from other regions or areas. Meanwhile, regionalism is a movement, organization or body that encourages the event and maintenance of the identity and special interests of a region or area.
Although Papua New Guinea is geographically adjoining to Indonesia, it lies on a distinct continental plate. The island of Papua is definitely connected to the Australian continental plate. Thus, the islands of Papua Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are geographically a part of the Pacific Islands. However, the rationale why the island of Papua is an element of Indonesia and belongs to Southeast Asia, while Papua New Guinea is a separate country and belongs to the Pacific Islands region, is for historical reasons.
Historical roots play a vital role within the formation of regions and regionalism within the Pacific islands. Like many countries within the region, Papua New Guinea was originally a European colony ruled by the Dutch, British and Germans before gaining independence from Australia, a Commonwealth country, in 1975. Indonesia, however, gained independence from the Netherlands. Later, throughout the colonial period, similar colonial rulers in various parts of the Pacific Islands implemented many policies and political practices. This influenced the political and cultural development of the region and ultimately shaped a singular regional identity.
This in turn has influenced politics and economics, with Papua New Guinea having strong links with neighboring Pacific island countries. It is a member of several regional organizations similar to the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Islands Cooperation Organization and the Pacific Islands Agricultural Development Center. In addition, Papua New Guinea can be economically connected to its neighbors through trade and investment.
Cultural aspects also play a vital role in shaping regionalism within the Pacific islands. Despite being composed of many islands and different tribes, the region has many similarities in cultural elements similar to art, music and dance. There are over 800 different ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea alone, and yet all of them share some similarities of their cultural practices.
The above explains why Papua New Guinea was included within the Oceania region resulting from geographical, cultural, historical and political aspects. Although Papua New Guinea is positioned near Southeast Asia, it has historical roots that make it a part of the Oceania region, and likewise has unique cultures and customs closer to countries within the Oceania region. Therefore, Papua New Guinea is taken into account a part of the Oceania region and never Southeast Asia.
