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Reuters

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown survived on Wednesday a vote of no-confidence in parliament brought by the opposition over deals he struck with China that strained relations with New Zealand.
Members of parliament voted 13-9 to defeat the motion introduced by the Cook Islands United Party. Two members abstained from voting.
The government holds 14 seats in the 24-seat unicameral parliament while the opposition holds 10.
Opposition lawmaker Teariki Heather, who moved the motion to oust Brown’s cabinet, said: “We want to stand on our own two feet and make our own decisions, but there’s a big ‘but’ there.
“Who has supported us during the past? Our relationship with New Zealand.”
Brown visited Beijing this month to strike a strategic partnership with China spanning education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management and seabed mining.
His dealings set off alarm bells in New Zealand, with which it has constitutional ties, due to concerns about China’s growing presence in the region and the potential threats to the country’s national security.
But Brown told parliament it was his responsibility to seek out “every opportunity that benefits our people”.
“Just as New Zealand and Australia and other nations pursue economic partnerships that serve their national interest, we too must act in our own personal interests,” he said.
The Cook Islands is a self-governing nation and maintains free association with Wellington, sharing King Charles as their head of state, as well as citizenship rights.
It is permitted an independent foreign policy, but the two countries are required to consult on security, defence and foreign policy issues.


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Pacific nations

Cook Islands PM beats no-confidence vote over China deals

Chinese Premier Li Qiang with Mark Brown, prime minister of the Cook Islands, in Harbin earlier this month. Photo: Xinhua


New Zealand need not fear China’s growing ties with Pacific nations

Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown visits the National Deep Sea Centre in Qingdao, China in this picture released on February 12, 2025. Photo: Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands / Facebook via Reuters 

New Zealander Foreign Minister Winston Peters (top centre) and Cook Islander Prime Minister Mark Brown (lower left) were among the delegates attending the Pacific Islands Forum in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on August 26, 2024. Photo: AFP

After China deal, Cook Islands looks beyond ‘big brother’ New Zealand, US

Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown (lower left) and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters (top right), attend a Pacific Islands Forum meeting last year. Photo: AFP

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown in Harbin, China’s Heilongjiang province, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown (lower left) and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters (top right) attend a Pacific Islands Forum meeting last year. Photo: AFP

Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Mark Brown (third from right) visits the National Deep Sea Centre in Qingdao, China, last Wednesday. Photo: Facebook/Mark Brown via Reuters

Cook Islands says comprehensive strategic partnership deal signed with China

Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

China, the Cook Islands – and New Zealand’s struggle for influence in the Pacific

The Cook Islands, with its population of around 15,000, is a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun speaks at a press conference in Beijing last month. Photo: EPA-EFE

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New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Australasia

Prime Minister Mark Brown struck a strategic partnership with China this month, irking Cook Islands’ opposition and New Zealand


Prime Minister Mark Brown struck a strategic partnership with China this month, irking Cook Islands’ opposition and New Zealand.


New Zealand

Diplomacy

China-New Zealand relations