Australia in Asia and the Pacific Level 3 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Tyranny of distance

The high cost and time burden of transporting goods, people and information between Australia and distant markets, shaping its trade and settlement patterns.

Exclusive Economic Zone

A maritime zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coastal baseline, within which the coastal state has sovereign rights over living and non-living resources.

Torres Strait Treaty

A 1978 agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea that defines the maritime boundary and protects traditional fishing and movement rights of Torres Strait Islanders.

Pacific Islands Forum

The principal political and economic grouping of Pacific island states, founded in 1971, with Australia and New Zealand as members.

Ring of Fire

A belt of tectonic plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis are frequent and intense.

Monsoon

A seasonal reversal of prevailing winds that brings heavy summer rainfall to South and Southeast Asia and dry conditions in winter.

El Niño

A periodic warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that disrupts rainfall patterns, often bringing drought to eastern Australia.

La Niña

A periodic cooling of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that typically increases rainfall and flooding risk in eastern Australia.

Coral Triangle

A marine region in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific holding the world's highest coral and reef fish diversity, supporting food security and livelihoods.

Water tower of Asia

A term for the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, whose glaciers and snowmelt feed major rivers supplying water to billions of people.

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a forum of economies promoting trade liberalisation through voluntary, non-binding commitments rather than enforceable rules.

RCEP

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade agreement among Asia-Pacific economies, including Australia, China, Japan and ASEAN members.

Comparative advantage

The principle that a country gains from trade by specialising in goods it can produce at lower opportunity cost than its trading partners.

Terms of trade

The ratio of a country's export prices to its import prices; a rise means each unit of exports buys more imports.

Asian Development Bank

A multilateral development bank headquartered in Manila that finances infrastructure and poverty reduction projects across Asia and the Pacific.

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, founded in 1967, which operates by consensus and non-interference among its ten member states.

East Asia Summit

A leaders' forum for strategic dialogue in the Asia-Pacific, bringing together ASEAN members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, the United States and others.

UNCLOS

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines maritime zones including the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone.

Boe Declaration

A 2018 Pacific Islands Forum security framework that identifies climate change as the single greatest threat to Pacific island states.

FPDA

The Five Power Defence Arrangements linking Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore in defence consultation and exercises.

Mabo decision

A 1992 High Court ruling that recognised native title in Australian law and overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius.

1967 referendum

A national vote that allowed the Commonwealth to legislate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to count them in the census.

Stolen Generations

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families under government policies; the National Apology was delivered in 2008.

Connection to Country

An Indigenous concept describing spiritual, cultural and custodial relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their ancestral lands.

Multiculturalism

A policy approach recognising and supporting cultural diversity, adopted in Australia from the 1970s as the White Australia policy was dismantled.

Paris Agreement

A 2015 global climate treaty committing parties to limit warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts toward 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Nationally Determined Contribution

A country's self-set climate action pledge under the Paris Agreement, covering emissions reduction targets and adaptation measures.

Montreal Protocol

A 1987 international treaty that phased out ozone-depleting substances and is widely regarded as a successful model of environmental cooperation.

Coral bleaching

The loss of symbiotic algae from corals under heat stress, turning reefs white and threatening biodiversity, fisheries and tourism income.

Transboundary haze

Air pollution from land-clearing and peatland fires in Southeast Asia that drifts across national borders, affecting Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

DMZ

The Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, established by the 1953 armistice; no formal peace treaty has been signed.

RAMSI

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, a Pacific-led intervention from 2003 to 2017 that restored law and order after civil unrest.