Cook Islands strikes deal with China on seabed minerals

The Cook Islands said on Saturday it has struck a five-year agreement with China to cooperate in exploring and researching the Pacific nation’s seabed mineral riches.

A copy of the deal showed it covers cooperation in “exploration and research of seabed mineral resources”. The Government said it did not involve any agreement to give an exploration or mining licence.

A joint committee would oversee the partnership, which also includes seabed minerals-related training and technology transfer, logistics support, and deep-sea ecosystems research.

Cook Islands signed a Joint Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with China last week, straining the relationship between New Zealand and the Pacific Island nation.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown was accused of “not properly consulting” New Zealand on the country’s deals with the superpower.

Brown said the deal supported a broader partnership pact he signed on a state visit to China this month for the two countries to cooperate in trade, investment and the seabed minerals sector.

“Our seabed minerals section remains under strict regulatory oversight, ensuring that all decisions are made transparently and in the best interest of the Cook Islands and its people,” he said in a statement.

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 will mark the 60th anniversary of free association, will require the Government to “reset the Government-to-Government relationship”.

“While the connection between the people of the Cook Islands and New Zealand remains resolutely strong, we currently face challenges in the Government-to-Government relationship,” Peters said.

The remarks were made in the midst of one of the biggest crises the relationship has ever known, with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and a number of other agreements with China, seen as a strategic competitor by the New Zealand Government, without consulting Wellington to a level the Government believes meets the Cook Islands’ obligations under the current constitutional arrangement between the two countries.

– Agence France-Presse, additional reporting NZ Herald