Part of the South Pacific Ocean.
It is located between Queensland , Australia, on the west and Vanuatu and New Caledonia on the east, and bordered on the north by Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands . Occupying an area of 1,849,800 sq mi (4,791,000 sq km), it merges with the Tasman Sea and Solomon Sea and is connected to the Arafura Sea via the Torres Strait . It was named for its many coral formations, including the Great Barrier Reef . During World War II it was the scene of a strategic U.S. naval and air victory over the Japanese (1942).