A upcoming agreement between the Cook Islands and China is attracting criticism from New Zealand.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown: "No need for New Zealand to sit in the room with us," brushing off Wellington's calls for oversight of his country's upcoming deal with Beijing.
Brown’s remarks reflect a turning point in the 60-year-old free association between the two countries, as Brown heads to China to pen a Joint Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Kiwi Concerns Over Chinese Influence
The agreement ruffled feathers in Wellington, where Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters expressed deep unease about being kept in the dark about its contents.
While Brown denies links to defence cooperation, with China, Auckland remains concerned about Chinese engagement on deep-sea mining and port development.
Chinese officials sought to calm tensions, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stating that relations "should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party."
However, opposition leaders in the Cook Islands are restless.
Democratic Party MP Tina Browne questioned the lack of transparency by Brown and United Party leader Teariki Heather planned protests against Brown’s leadership.
Pacific Countries Under New Zealand Aid Review
Furthermore, New Zealand paused its $57 million aid package to Kiribati after President Taneti Maamau backed out of a planned meeting with Peters. The move comes as Trump’s administration froze U.S. foreign aid worldwide, leaving a vacuum that Beijing seems eager to fill.
The aid freeze hit hard, in places like Kiribati, where foreign assistance makes up 18% of national income.
As one Pacific minister put it, the aid review "causes serious anxiety" for Kiribati's 120,000 residents.
The timing could hardly be worse for Western interests in the Pacific as China eyes up greater influence in the basin.
Trump’s administration already withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords and World Health Organisation. Both decisions weigh heavily on island nations grappling with rising seas and public health challenges.
Together, these steps raise qualms about American reliability across the Pacific basin.
U.S. Party Politics Beset Pacific Partners
In a telling contrast, the Marshall Islands reportedly topped all foreign country lobbying spending in Washington. In 2024, the Islands spent nearly $25 million in D.C. lobbying. The spending spree spotlights the stakes for Pacific countries caught between competing powers.
Last year, President Hilda Heine warned that U.S.-Marshall Islands ties were “gradually being destroyed by party politics”. Congress later delayed the approval of a $2.3 billion, 20-year funding package. The holdup was said to affect essential services like health and education while potentially opening doors for Chinese influence.
The funding forms part of the Compact of Free Association; the pact grants American access to strategic areas of the Pacific in exchange for economic support. Despite bipartisan backing, the agreement remains stuck in Congress.
Therefore, the U.S. State Department pushed for the funding’s release. Deputy Assistant Secretary Camille Dawson stressed the need to “work in close concert and in support of the freely associated states.”
As polarisation slows U.S. decision-making, with Trump adding to such momentum, Beijing lines up to take Washington’s place.
Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates!
Read also:
The Battle for Influence in the Pacific
Trade, Tech, and Tension: Storm Clouds
New Zealand Goes Green: Blockchain in Agriculture
