Hundreds of Cook Islanders gathered outside the parliament in Avarua to protest the government’s new strategic partnership with China and plans for a Cook Islands passport.
Prime Minister Mark Brown has been forced to defend the deal, which the Opposition say has strained relations with New Zealand after he refused to share the details of his dealings with Beijing.
Mr Brown said the accord, signed with Chinese premier Li Qiang during a state visit to China last week, offers the Cook Islands opportunities in trade, infrastructure and the sustainable use of ocean resources.
More than 400 people took to the streets a day after the Cook Islands Prime Minister returned from China, where he signed a strategic partnership deal. (RNZ Pacific: Caleb Fotheringham)
Opposition party leaders Teariki Heather and Tina Browne led the peaceful demonstration on Tuesday, condemning the lack of consultation and arguing the move departs from the principles of a ‘free association’ agreement with New Zealand.
The agreement requires New Zealand, the former colonial ruler of the self-governing Pacific nation, to vet any foreign relation decisions by the Cook Islands.
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Mr Brown now faces a no confidence motion in parliament, filed by the opposition due after February 25.
‘Let’s not be dependent on our big brother’
Mr Brown told parliament the deal would not replace the “longstanding relationships with New Zealand, Australia, and others but rather complements them, ensuring that we have a diversified portfolio of partnerships”.
“We can choose to be a country that relies on handouts and is dependent on our big brother or we can choose to be a country that can stand on its own two feet and can engage in constructive partnerships of mutual benefit,”
he said.
“Our journey as a self-governing nation is not one of isolation, but of partnership and engagement.”
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown is facing a no confidence vote after signing a deal with China. (AP: Rafiq Maqbool)
Mr Brown said Wellington was a valued development partner but Cook Islanders had also made a “significant contribution” to New Zealand’s economy.
“This is not a relationship of one-way support, but rather a partnership of shared success,” he said.
So, what was in the agreements signed?
China will give a one-time grant of about $4 million to the nation of 15,000, Mr Brown said.
A copy of the five-year “action plan” with China was released on Monday listing areas for cooperation including trade, investment and the “seabed minerals sector”.
New Zealand raised concerns about the Prime Minister’s visit to China as it had not seen in advance the agreements signed, despite having asked to review them.
A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Wellington looked forward to the release of all signed agreements “without delay” and would engage with the Cook Islands government in the days ahead.
Why do protesters care about passports?
The China dispute hasn’t cropped up in isolation.
Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship and travel on New Zealand passports.
Earlier in February, Mr Brown proposed the Cook Islands have its own passport, insisting residents wanted it to assert their own unique Pacific identity.
However, New Zealand warned that if Cook Islanders did take up their own passport, they’d be stripped of the benefits of the status quo — including automatic NZ citizenship, residency and essential services.
That prospect stirred plenty of unease and protests within the community and on Friday the prime minister backed down, telling local media that he’d taken the passport proposal “off the table at the moment”.
Links to deep sea mining
Cook Islands officials say they also discussed seabed minerals research with Chinese institutes during the visit, as the Pacific island mulls deep-sea mining of nodules rich in metals such as nickel and cobalt.
The Pacific nation has licensed three companies to explore the seabed for the metals that are used in electric car batteries.
Cook Island protesters in the capital of Avarua marching on Tuesday. (RNZ Pacific)
Despite issuing the five-year exploration licences in 2022, the Cook Islands government says it will not decide whether to harvest the potato-sized nodules until it has assessed environmental and other impacts.
“We are actively developing our seabed mineral sector under a world leading regulatory framework, ensuring that we strike the necessary balance between responsible resource management and environmental protection,” Mr Brown said.
Why partner with China?
China is vying for diplomatic, economic and military influence in the strategically important Pacific, challenging the historic position of the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
Mr Brown said Pacific nations were looking for other countries to “fill the gap” after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.
“It was reassuring in my discussions with Premier Li that China will step up in terms of meeting their carbon emissions targets and also in supporting small island states to help build resilience against the impacts of climate change,” he said.
Mr Brown said the Cook Islands had learned during the COVID pandemic that it must diversify beyond tourism.
ABC with wires
