Labels get in the way of a clear understanding of the things they purport to describe.
The geographical area, or sphere, against which we should test our interests, has to be the Asia-Pacific region. Some would have us shrink to the South Pacific, as I will demonstrate in a moment. 40 percent of our trade goes into the Asia-Pacific region. Barely 4 percent goes into the Pacific. North and South Asia will become more, not less, important to us over time, so that is where our economic, foreign and defence focus will inevitably lie.