The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word APIA
A
P
I
A
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Primarily, area Pacific islanders abide?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case primarily, area pacific islanders abide? = apia.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.