The Cook Islands will this week sign a strategic agreement with China, in a move that has rattled the south Pacific country’s traditional partner New Zealand and deepened concerns about Beijing’s influence in the region.
Mark Brown, the archipelago’s prime minister, will travel to China on Monday for a state visit and to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” that will cover everything from trade and tourism to renewable energy.
The islands, which have long standing economic and diplomatic relations with China, have a ‘free association’ agreement with New Zealand which provides financial backing — including NZ$20mn ($11.3mn) over two years to help the country’s economy recover from the Covid pandemic — as well as foreign affairs and defence support.