Asia–Oceania boundary

Asia–Oceania boundary
The border between Asia and the region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The Maluku Islands in Indonesia are

often considered to lie on the border of southeast Asia, with New Guinea, to the east of the islands, being wholly part of Oceania. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several vastly different geographic meanings

since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the colonial

possessions of the various empires there (not all European). Lewis and Wigen assert, “The narrowing of ‘Southeast Asia’ to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process.”[23]