"in Old Armenian ""virk""' (վիրք), it being a source of Ancient Greek ""iviria"" (ιβηρία), that resulted in Latin ""hiberia"" (i.e. ""Iberia""). Today the full, official name of the country in English is ""Georgia"", as specified in the Georgian constitution which reads """"Georgia"" shall be the name of the State of Georgia."" Before the 1995 constitution came into force the country's name was the ""Republic of Georgia"". The Georgian government works actively to remove Russian-derived exonym ""Gruziya"" from usage around the world. The native Georgian name for the country is Sakartvelo (საქართველო). The word consists of two parts. Its root, ""kartvel-i"""
"Asia"" is sometimes used to refer to a wide geographical area covering ten Southeast Asian countries in ASEAN, Greater China, Japan and Korea. However, in this context, the term ""Far East"" is used by the Europeans to cover ASEAN countries and the countries in East Asia. However, being a Eurocentric term, Far East describes the region's geographical position in relation to Europe rather than its location within Asia. Alternatively, the term ""Asia Pacific Region"" is often used in describing East Asia, Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. Observers preferring a broader definition of ""East Asia"" often use the term Northeast"
"stable, democratic nations, integrated into the world economy and cooperating with one another, the United States, and our partners to advance regional security and stability."" The interests of the United States and South Asia have converged. The US and South Asia are at a unique place in time and history for building and cementing strong ties between the South Asian nations and its peoples, and these two blocks are determined to do so. The region is now, and will long remain, at the forefront of America's foreign policy concerns. The United States is committed to help South Asia achieve the"
"Taiwan Taiwan (, ), officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. Its neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It is the most populous state and largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations. The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, was inhabited by aborigines before the 17th century, when Dutch and Spanish colonies opened the island to mass Han immigration. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed in 1683 by"
"States and other individual East Asian countries. The system constructs a dominant bilateral security architecture in East Asia that is different from the multilateral security architecture in Europe. The US acts as a ""hub,"" and Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan are its ""spokes."" There is a strong alliance between the hub and the spoke, but there are no firmly established connections between the spokes themselves. This system was famously inspired by John Foster Dulles, the US Secretary of State from 1953 to 1959. He used the term twice in Tokyo and once at the San Francisco Peace"
"Laos Laos (, ; , ""Lāo"" ), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (; ), commonly referred to by its colloquial name of Muang Lao (Lao: ເມືອງລາວ, ""Muang Lao""), is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese peninsula, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao (Kingdom of a Million Elephants Under the White Parasol), which existed for"
"international exchanges in areas such as the economy, culture, sports and education. Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States, having received statehood on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania, the only U.S. state located outside North America, and the only one composed entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over . At the southeastern"
"United States The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km), the United States is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area and slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles (10.1 million km). With a population of over 325 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population"
"East Asian foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration For purposes of U.S. State Department policy, East Asia consists of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China (mainland, as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region), East Timor, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, North Korea, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan (R.O.C.), Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. The Assistant Secretary of State for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs is Daniel R. Russel. President Obama's Asia strategy represents a"
"Asian Pacific American Asian-Pacific American (APA) or Asian-Pacific Islander (API) is a term sometimes used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs defined Asian-Pacific Islander as ""A person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Samoa; and in South Asia, includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan."" A definition from Henry Ford Health System states that an"
"India India (IAST: ), also known as the Republic of India (IAST: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country (with over 1,200 crore (1.2 billion) people), and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of"
"at . Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, is in area. The populated territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands together cover . Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada. The United States is the world's third- or fourth-largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted, and how"
"Dragon Boat Festival. Taiwan Taiwan (, ), officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. Its neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It is the most populous state and largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations. The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, was inhabited by aborigines before the 17th century, when Dutch and Spanish colonies opened the island to mass Han immigration. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed"
"Jakarta (Indonesia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Lahore (Pakistan), Metro Manila (Philippines), Cebu (Philippines) and Bangkok (Thailand). Economy of Asia The economy of Asia comprises more than 4.5 billion people (60% of the world population) living in 49 different nation states. Six further states lie partly in Asia, but are considered to belong to another region economically and politically. Asia is the fastest growing economic region, as well as the largest continental economy by both GDP Nominal and PPP in the world. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia are currently the top five economies in Asia. Moreover, Asia is the site"
"Nations. There are numerous ancient historic Asian designations for Southeast Asia, none are geographically consistent with each other. Names referring to Southeast Asia include ""Suvarnabhumi"" or ""Sovannah Phoum"" (""Golden Land"") and ""Suvarnadvipa"" (""Golden Islands"") in Indian tradition, the ""Lands below the Winds"" in Arabia and Persia, ""Nanyang"" (""South Seas"") to the Chinese and ""Nanyo"" in Japan. A 2nd-century world map created by Ptolemy of Alexandria names the Malay Peninsula as Avrea Chersonesvs, (Golden Peninsula). The term Southeast Asia has been coined to designate the area of operation (the South East Asia Command, SEAC) for Anglo-American forces in the Pacific Theater"
"States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as ""Burma (Myanmar)"" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names. The government of Canada has in the past used ""Burma"", such as in its 2007 legislation imposing sanctions, but as of the mid-2010s generally uses ""Myanmar"". The Czech Republic officially uses ""Myanmar"", although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website. The United Nations uses ""Myanmar"", as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, Russia, (Germany), China, India, Bangladesh, Norway, Japan and Switzerland. Most"
"History of Southeast Asia The term ""Southeast Asia"" has been in use since World War II. The region has been further divided into two distinct sub-regions: Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina), which comprises the modern states of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and West Malaysia, and Maritime Southeast Asia (or Insular Southeast Asia), which comprises the modern states of Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Christmas Island. The earliest ""Homo sapiens"" presence in Mainland Southeast Asia can be traced back to 50,000 years ago and to at least 40,000 years ago in Maritime"
"Asia to refer to the greater China area, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan, with Southeast Asia covering the ten ASEAN countries. This usage, which is seen in economic and diplomatic discussions, is at odds with the historical meanings of both ""East Asia"" and ""Northeast Asia"". The Council on Foreign Relations defines Northeast Asia as Japan and Korea. The culture of East Asia has largely been influenced by China, as it was the civilization that had the most dominant influence in the region throughout the ages that ultimately laid the foundation for East Asian civilization. The vast knowledge and ingenuity of"
"Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific (abbreviated as APAC, Asia-Pac, AsPac, APJ, JAPA or JAPAC) is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The region varies in area depending on which context, but it typically includes much of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The term may also include Russia (on the North Pacific) and countries in the Americas which are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia and"
"Southeast Asia Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of Japan and China, east of India, west of Papua New Guinea, and north of Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. The region is the only part of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere, although the majority of it is in the Northern"
"Economy of Asia The economy of Asia comprises more than 4.5 billion people (60% of the world population) living in 49 different nation states. Six further states lie partly in Asia, but are considered to belong to another region economically and politically. Asia is the fastest growing economic region, as well as the largest continental economy by both GDP Nominal and PPP in the world. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia are currently the top five economies in Asia. Moreover, Asia is the site of some of the world's longest modern economic booms, starting from the Japanese economic miracle"
"Central Asia Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north. The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is also colloquially referred to as ""the stans"" as the countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix ""-stan"", meaning ""land of"". Central Asia has a population of about 105 million, consisting of five republics: Kazakhstan (pop. ), Kyrgyzstan (), Tajikistan (), Turkmenistan (), and Uzbekistan (). Afghanistan"
"States and Russia prior to their invitation to join the East Asia Summit. US President Barack Obama declared his country ""an Asia Pacific nation"" during his first year in office. Subsequently, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the Fifth EAS in October 2010 and President Obama attended the Sixth EAS in November 2011. In April and May 2010 it was discussed that the roles for Russia and the United States may be to create a new grouping ""ASEAN + 8"" including the East Asia Summit members together with the United States and Russia. ASEAN + 8 may not meet"
"Haiyan in November 2013 evidenced the rapidly expanding military alliance between the two countries. Pacific Century The Pacific Century (and the associated term Asia-Pacific Century) is a term that has been used to describe the 21st century through analogy with the term American Century. The implicit assumption underlying the usage of the term is that the 21st century will be dominated, especially economically, by the states in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the ASEAN members (particularly Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore), Australia, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This idea can"
"to a combination of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and islands in the Pacific Ocean — and most are also considered part of Australasia or Oceania. Asia contains the Indian subcontinent, Arabian peninsula, as well as a piece of the North American plate in Siberia. Since the 18th century Asia has been divided into several subregions independently defined from Asia as a whole. There have been no historical consensus and there is not now any universal consensus on the use of these terms, just as there is none for the word ""Asia"". The regions of Asia include: A survey carried out"
"making it the world's third or fourth largest country. China and the United States are smaller than Russia and Canada in total area, but are larger than Brazil. By land area only (exclusive of waters), the United States is the world's third largest country, after Russia and China, with Canada in fourth. Whether the US or China is the third largest country by total area depends on two factors: (1) The validity of China's claim on Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. Both these territories are also claimed by India, so are not counted; and (2) How US calculates its own"
"of the U.S. The term might also arguably be used for those states extremely economically dependent on a more powerful nation. The three Pacific Ocean countries associated with the United States under the Compact of Free Association (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau) may fall somewhat in this category. In the late 19th century, the Japanese Empire reduced Korea's status to that of a client state. In the early 20th century, this was converted to direct rule. Manchukuo, in contrast, remained a puppet state throughout World War II. Soviet proxy or ""client"" states included much of"
"Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States, having received statehood on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania, the only U.S. state located outside North America, and the only one composed entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over . At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest"
"the term ""Southeast Asia,"" although what constituted Southeast Asia was not fixed; for example, SEAC excluded the Philippines and a large part of Indonesia while including Ceylon. However, by the late 1970s, a roughly standard usage of the term ""Southeast Asia"" and the territories it encompasses had emerged. Although from a cultural or linguistic perspective the definitions of ""Southeast Asia"" may vary, the most common definitions nowadays include the area represented by the countries (sovereign states and dependent territories) listed below. Ten of the eleven states of Southeast Asia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while"
"are China, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates , Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Singapore. Wealth (if measured by GDP per capita) is mostly concentrated in the East Asia in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Brunei, as well as in oil rich countries in West Asia such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. Israel and, to a lesser extent Turkey are exceptions: both lie in the territory of Asia despite not often being counted as such. Israel (entrepreneurship on diversified industries) is a developed country, while Turkey"
"Pacific Century The Pacific Century (and the associated term Asia-Pacific Century) is a term that has been used to describe the 21st century through analogy with the term American Century. The implicit assumption underlying the usage of the term is that the 21st century will be dominated, especially economically, by the states in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the ASEAN members (particularly Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore), Australia, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This idea can be compared to the historical Eurocentric/Atlantic viewpoint, which has dominated for the past two"
"the Republic of China secured the island of Taiwan from invasion by the People's Republic of China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War on mainland China. Rather than taking a multilateral approach to their alliances and treaties in East Asia, as had been done in Europe with NATO, the U.S. decided on a bilateral approach with its Asian allies (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan), known as the San Francisco System or hubs-and-spokes system. Because the politics in Asia ranged from democratic to authoritarian, it would be difficult to find a base for multilateral relations stemming from shared values."
"East Timor is an observer state. Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea. Some parts of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (a disputed region or nation), are also considered as part of Southeast Asia by some authors. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina) and Maritime Southeast Asia (or the similarly defined Malay Archipelago) (). Mainland Southeast Asia includes: Maritime Southeast Asia includes: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically"