Cook Islands says in talks with China on deep-sea mining

Cook Islands says in talks with China on deep-sea mining by AFP Staff Writers Sydney (AFP) Feb 14, 2025 Cook Islands officials said Friday they had discussed seabed minerals research with China as the small Pacific island mulls deep-sea mining of...

Cook Islands PM defends China pact

Cook Islands PM defends China pact by AFP Staff Writers Sydney (AFP) Feb 18, 2025 The Cook Islands' prime minister on Tuesday defended a new partnership pact with China and urged his country not to depend on handouts from "big brother" New...

Cook Islands: Why a tiny nation has unnerved bigger Pacific countries, clue lies in China

Cook Islands’ shift towards China however has stirred political tensions in the country. Recently, protests broke out in Rarotonga - the largest Cook Island that also hosts the capital and the parliament read more The Cook Islands might be a small...

Cook Islands China deal riles allies as West's grip loosens

Katy WatsonPacific correspondent ShareSave The remote and resource-rich Cook Islands has antagonised old allies over a deal with China The Cook Islands may be small but the ambitions of its leader are mighty and his signing of a range of deals...

Cook Islands PM Brown Breaks Silence on China Deal with Luxon

Wellington, Feb 26: Mark Brown, the Prime Minister of Cook Islands, wrote to his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, on Wednesday after weeks of diplomatic silence. The two nations had a fallout when Brown signed a five-year agreement with...

Cook Islands deal sparks concern

An archipelago of 15 islands in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean, the Cook Islands has found itself at the center of geopolitical competition. Its recent decision to sign an action plan for a “comprehensive strategic partnership...

Cook Islands strikes deal with China on seabed minerals

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown Photo: RNZ Pacific / Caleb Fotheringham The Cook Islands said Saturday it has struck a five-year agreement with China to cooperate in exploring and researching the Pacific nation's seabed mineral riches. A...

OPINION: China-Cook Islands agreements spark public debate

Te Vairanga Kite Pakari Cook Islands Research Association, convened a panel at the University of the South Pacific’s Cook Islands campus last week to debate the implications of the China-Cook Islands agreements, offering a range of perspectives...

Cook Islands eyes China investment in blue economy

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 14, 2025. Brown is here for the closing ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)/25021438...

Cook Islands deal opens up Pacific to China - expert

Photo: LIU BIN China will be able to establish a "significant strategic presence" in the Pacific following its new agreement with the Cook Islands, a security studies professor says. The Cook Islands has signed a memorandum of understanding with...

Cook Islands announces deep sea minerals deal with China

The government of the Cook Islands said on Saturday that it had struck a five-year agreement with China to explore deep-sea minerals. The deal has raised eyebrows in nearby New Zealand. The Cook Islands is a self-governing archipelago in the...

China’s Pacific Play: A Critical Look At Its Growing Influence In The Cook Islands

Sun Lee Over the past two decades, China has steadily increased its presence in the Pacific region, with the Cook Islands emerging as a prominent case study. While Beijing touts its engagement as a win–win developmental partnership, closer...

Cook Islands to seal partnership with China as NZ bristles

Cook Islands to seal partnership with China as NZ bristles by AFP Staff Writers Sydney (AFP) Feb 6, 2025 The Cook Islands prime minister will agree on a plan for a strategic partnership with China on a state visit starting Monday, his office has...

Cook Islands strikes deal with China on seabed minerals

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Winston Peters called for a “reset” of New Zealand’s relationship with the Cook Islands. In a speech to the Pacific Island Political Science Association in Wellington on Wednesday evening, Peters said this year, which...

Cook Islands and China Partner on Sustainable Seabed Resource Development

The Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Blue Partnership in the Field of Seabed Minerals Affairs with the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China, reinforcing a shared...

Cook Islands must chart its own course, while honouring ties with…

The Cook Islands must take bold steps to secure its future while honouring its 60-year relationship with New Zealand, Foreign Minister Tingika Elikana told Parliament on Monday. Addressing the 12th Meeting of the 18th Parliament, Elikana reflected...

Cook Islands PM defends pact with China, urges Pacific nation not to depend on ‘big brother’ New Zealand

The Cook Islands’ prime minister on Tuesday defended a new partnership pact with China and urged his country not to depend on handouts from “big brother” New Zealand. The Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown. File Photo: The Office of the Prime...

Cook Islands PM: China deal complements, not replaces, NZ relationship

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says his country's deal with China "complements, not replaces" the relationship with New Zealand after signing it on Friday. Brown said "The Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP)...

Cook Islands and China Sign Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Prime Minister Mark Brown and his delegation visit the National Deep Sea Centre in China. (Image credit: OPM) Cook Islands signed a Joint Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with China on Friday, February 14, 2025. The...

Cook Islands releases terms of deal with China amid protests about lack of transparency

A strategic partnership deal between China and the Cook Islands spans areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excludes security ties, a document released by the Pacific island nation’s government showed. Western nations that...