New Zealand Demands Rebuilding Trust After Freezing Aid to Cook Islands Due to China Pact
New Zealand cut off $11 million in help to the Cook Islands after secret deals with China made people worry about the country’s growing power in the area.
New Zealand has stopped sending millions of dollars in help to the Cook Islands after it came to light that the Pacific nation and China had made big deals that Wellington says it wasn’t told about.
The NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) freeze comes after the Cook Islands announced in February that they would be forming relationships with Beijing in areas such as tourism, deep-sea mining, technology, and infrastructure. This caught New Zealand by surprise, as it is China’s biggest aid donor and defense partner.
A spokesman for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said, “Funding depends on a high-trust bilateral relationship.” The spokesman also stated that the Cook Islands will not receive any more aid until they “take concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust.”
The Cook Islands replied in a diplomatic way, saying that they “highly value” New Zealand’s long-term support for development and are committed to easing the tensions.
Its Foreign Ministry said, “Constructive dialogue is ongoing.”
It was because of worries among Western partners about China’s growing influence in the Pacific. This comes after a similar security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2022, which caused concern in Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Early this year, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown defended the deals with China, saying they were in his country’s “long-term interests” and didn’t mean a break with its long-standing ties with Wellington or Canberra.
That being said, the deals led to protests in Rarotonga and a failed vote of no confidence against Brown. China, for its part, has said that the deals are not meant to hurt China.
Because New Zealand has “free association” status with the Cook Islands, which means they share defense duties and allow Cook Islanders to hold New Zealand passports, the impact is especially sensitive. There are only 15,000 people living in the Cook Islands, but more than 100,000 live in New Zealand and Australia.
The rift shows how tensions are rising as Pacific countries try to balance their needs for growth with their growing need to compete in global politics.
New Zealand wants a quick answer, especially since Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is getting ready to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in Beijing.
