Context: 

• India is exploring the possibility of trilateral cooperation with France and Australia in the strategic Pacific Islands. 

Pacific Islands:

• The Pacific Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. It comprises three ethnogeographic groupings—Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
• Melanesia:
  • The main island groups include Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. 
  • All are independent countries except New Caledonia, which is under the French government. 
  • The island of New Guinea is shared between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. 

Image Credits: saylordotorg.

• Micronesia :
  • Location: North of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea is the large region of Micronesia. 
  • Etymology: The “micro” portion of the name refers to the fact that the islands are small in size, often only one square mile or so in physical area. 
  • Composition: Most of the islands are composed of coral and do not extend above sea level to any large extent. These low islands dominate the high islands. 
  • Volcanic origin: The high islands are usually of volcanic origin and reach elevations in the thousands of feet.

Image Credits: saylordotorg.

• Polynesia :
  • The largest region of the Pacific is Polynesia, a land of many island groups with large distances between them. 
  • Numerous groups of islands have come together under separate political arrangements. 
  • The region includes the Hawaiian Islands in the north and the Pitcairn Islands and Easter Island to the east. 
  • Diverse: Polynesia has a mixture of island types ranging from the high mountains of Hawaii to low-lying coral atolls that are only a few feet above sea level. 
  • Culture: Polynesian culture stems from island resources. Fishing, farming, and an understanding of the seas created a way of life that gave Polynesia its identity. 
  • Cartographic excellence :Polynesians created innovative maps that provided a means of sailing across large expanses of open seas to connect with distant islands. 

Image Credits: saylordotorg.

News Source: Live Mint