SYDNEY -- Once the world romanticized about the South Pacific paradise. Today, Australia is guardedly debating the Balkanization of the South Pacific.
Nowhere is the apparent breakdown of democratic government among the young South Pacific island-states of more concern than in Canberra. There, a hand-wringing Howard government is being berated for doing too little too late to stop the bloodshed among warring Melanesian groups.
A smouldering coup in Fiji represents a turning point in once-balmy South Pacific politics. Already it has spawned a copycat coup in neighboring Solomon Islands. Where next, Australia is asking.