A veteran Pacific academic, Professor Ron Crocombe, says the Pacific is in the midst of a dramatic transition that will have a profound impact on people.
In a new book, "Asia in the Pacific - Replacing the West" he has detailed the growing involvement by Asian nations in the Pacific and the diminishing influence of the West.
He says the replacement of the West by Asia is accelerating and is irreversible across all sectors of Pacific life - business, media, culture, crime arts, and education.
"The process has been visibly moving for forty, fifty years, increasing all the time. It goes up and down a little bit but the trend line is always in the same direction - a reduction of Western influence, an increase of Asian influence."
