What is Pacific regionalism for in contemporary times?

Pacific regionalism has historically coordinated sovereign diversity while projecting Pacific agency outward through international law and diplomacy. Contemporary geopolitical competition is once again recasting regionalism as a project of institutional integration, in which Pacific governments coordinate their own future conduct through regional security arrangements. This article argues that these reflect fundamentally different conceptions of Pacific regionalism. Rather than asking how far the Pacific should integrate, it suggests that the more important question is how Pacific states can coordinate the exercise of sovereignty in ways that maximise its collective value, preserve strategic flexibility and advance the interests of Pacific peoples.