The New Zealand government announced on Thursday that it has decided to suspend a budget assistance of 18.2 million New Zealand dollars (approximately 11 million US dollars) to the Cook Islands in early June. With the deepening relationship between the Cook Islands and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the mutual trust between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, two constitutionally related nations, has been strained.
According to a spokesperson for New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters, the funding in question is part of the core sector support funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, and this assistance should be based on a “high level of trust in the bilateral relationship”.
New Zealand and Australia are becoming increasingly cautious of the growing influence of the CCP in the Pacific region, seeing it as a potential threat to the national security of both countries. In January of this year, New Zealand had also suspended new development assistance to Kiribati. In recent years, Kiribati has also signed a series of bilateral agreements with China.
The spokesperson emphasized that “New Zealand will not consider providing any new significant assistance until the Cook Islands government takes concrete actions to repair the relationship and rebuild trust.” New Zealand stressed the hope for a prompt response to address concerns and expedite the restoration of such support.
In response, the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) later issued a statement, expressing its commitment to restoring a high level of trust with New Zealand and appreciating the long-standing assistance. The department stated that there are currently discrepancies in the understanding of the “consultation obligations” between the two countries, which are being urgently addressed.
At the time of this revelation, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is visiting China and is expected to meet with CCP leader Xi Jinping and State Council Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Friday, June 20. Luxon is expected to express concerns to the Chinese side about the deepening relationship between the Cook Islands and China, as well as raise issues about the CCP’s influence in the Pacific region.
The Cook Islands is an autonomous country with a “free association” relationship with New Zealand, and its residents hold New Zealand citizenship. New Zealand has pledged to defend the country if necessary, and the Cook Islands are allowed to implement an independent foreign policy, but consultations are required between the two countries on matters of security, defense, and foreign policy.
According to official data, over the past three years, New Zealand has provided a total of 194.2 million New Zealand dollars (approximately 118 million US dollars) in aid to the Cook Islands through a development program.
In February of this year, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown visited China and signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement “2025-2030 Action Plan” with the Chinese side. This agreement outlines the ways in which the two countries will enhance cooperation in various areas, including education, economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management, and deep-sea mining. During Brown’s visit, several memorandums of understanding were also signed, which have not been publicly released.
New Zealand stated that the Cook Islands did not engage in sufficient consultations regarding the relevant documents before signing the agreements, violating the bilateral arrangements between the two countries. New Zealand had sent a letter to Brown in early June notifying him of the decision to freeze the funding.
The Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration stated that there is a discrepancy in the understanding of the consultation obligations between the two sides and that they are currently urgently addressing the matter. The statement emphasized that “the Cook Islands has always stressed that New Zealand remains our closest partner in security and defense matters, and this stance has never changed.”
Currently, the two countries have established an official dialogue mechanism and have held two meetings, making some progress in risk management concerning the signing of agreements between the Cook Islands and the CCP.
A spokesperson for Peters stated that the agreement signed between the Cook Islands and the CCP, along with the lack of prior consultation with New Zealand, indicates a gap in the understanding of each other’s “special relationship” and underscores that “trust and substantive interaction are the foundation of a free association relationship.”
In February, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Peters, in a speech to the Pacific Islands Political Studies Association in Wellington, had mentioned that Cook Islands Prime Minister Brown’s opaque dealings with Beijing were a test of their constitutional relationship with New Zealand. He emphasized the need to “reset the intergovernmental relationship.”
Anna Powles, Associate Professor at Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies, stated, “China is using this to sow discord in the relationship between the Cook Islands and New Zealand.”
【This article is referenced from a report by Reuters】