There is a widening fear in Wellington that the Cook Islands – China deal is in danger of becoming a foreign policy crisis.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters yesterday delivered a blunt assessment of the situation saying that New Zealand wanted to reset and restate the formal parameters of the relationship with the Cooks.
And though the Cook Islands and China have yet to release the texts of various agreements they signed, an unsigned “Action Plan 2025 -2030 for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Cook Islands and the People’s Republic of China’ has been published by the Cook Islands government.
That commits the Cooks to consult with China before it takes part in any bilateral or multilateral international meetings.
And in a requirement that is raising eyebrows the action plan commits the two countries to “provide support to the candidates of each of the two countries during the elections of the various boards and committees of the organisations to which we both belong.”
Meanwhile, in Rarotonga, there have been protests against the Cook Island government’s moves, and they have been joined by Maori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
The former Labour Minister and ACT leader Richard Prebble has published a column trenchantly criticising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for failing to be on top of the situation in the Cooks.
Other former politicians have voiced similar views to POLITIK.
That criticism should also be a worry for Peters who yesterday was boasting that no other New Zealand Prime Minister had visited all 18 Pacific Forum members in one year.
But no other New Zealand Foreign Minister has also presided over one of New Zealand’s two Pacific “realm” nations threatening the very basis of the relationship.
Not since the 1987 Fiji coups has New Zealand’s position in the Pacific seemed so uncertain.
That is probably why Peters decided to go on the offensive when speaking to the Pacific Island Political Science Association in Wellington yesterday.
“Once the New Zealand Government has seen the text of all of the agreements that were signed, it will need to undertake its own careful analysis of how they impact our vital national interests,” he said.
“Only then will we be able to fully gauge the deals’ impact on the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands.”
However, the suggestion that the Cooks work with China in the few international fora it belongs to has rattled Wellington.
The Cooks has also committed to working with New Zealand in the 2001 Joint Declaration of the Principles of the Relationship between the Cook Islands and New Zealand.
It says: “Without impairing the right of either Signatory to formulate and implement its own foreign policies, the Signatories undertake to:
• consult regularly on foreign affairs matters with a view to formulating common policies on important foreign affairs issues,
• cooperate in the pursuit of common foreign relations objectives; and
• advise each other when a proposed foreign policy initiative may affect the rights, obligations and interests of the other Signatory.
The agreement with China says the two countries will engage in advance discussions prior to the Cook Islands’ hosting of any regional meetings that China ordinarily attends in any capacity (such as the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting) “to identify ways in which we can support each other as both hosts and participants, to advance our collective regional interests.”
“We commit to supporting each other in multilateral forums, where our priorities align, and to the fullest extent possible,” the agreement says.
“Where possible, we will continue to provide support to the candidates of each of the two countries during the elections of the various boards and committees of the organisations to which we both belong.”
And: “China will support the Cook Islands’ aspirations to expand its membership of international organisations.”
Richard Prebble is blaming the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“I am incredulous. It is claimed that although Cook Islanders are New Zealanders, our Government did not know what the Cook Island Prime Minister was negotiating with China,” he wrote.
“Nothing is secret in the Pacific. It is deep in Pacific culture. In the village, everyone knows everything.
“Our High Commissioner, Catherine Graham, holds degrees in International Relations & Politics and Commerce, Economics & Public Policy. Her previous overseas post was in Moscow.
“Impressive. But in the Pacific, it is personal relationships.”
In his speech last night, Peters made clear his frustration with the recent events in the Cooks.
“Over the past 65 years, New Zealand has taken very seriously its obligations and commitments to the Cook Islands people,” he said.
“Every year, we deliver for the Cook Islands people in areas as broad as health and education, economic development, defence and security, good governance, resources and environment, and culture and heritage.
“The Cook Islands, in exercising self-government, is supported by New Zealand funding and provision of expertise.
“As long as the Cook Islands remain tied to New Zealand constitutionally, we have an expectation that the Government of the Cook Islands will not seek benefits only available to fully independent states – such as separate passports and citizenship, or membership of the United Nations or the Commonwealth – or pursue policies that are significantly at variance with New Zealand’s interests.
“We also have an expectation that New Zealand will be fully and meaningfully consulted on all major international actions that the Cook Islands contemplates that affect our interests.”
At the heart of the constitutional relationship between the Cooks and New Zealand is the right of every Cook islander to a New Zealand passport.
With that comes access to the New Zealand educational and health systems and New Zealand superannuation.
When Cooks Prime Minister Mark Brown arrived back in Rarotonga from China, he was greeted by a 400-strong protest saying they wanted to keep the link with New Zealand.
And then, on Tuesday, there was a protest march to Parliament.
Conscious of that, Peters last night was careful to distinguish between the people of the Cook Islands and the Government.
He said the relationship with the people remained “resolutely strong”, but “we currently face challenges in the government-to-government relationship. “
And with that came a subtle warning.
“During 2025, as we celebrate 60 years of free association, we are going to need to reset the government-to-government relationship,” he said.
“We will also need to find a way, as we did in 1973 and 2001, to formally restate the mutual responsibilities and obligations that we have for one another and the overall parameters and constraints of the free association model.”
On Monday, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown told his Parliament that the agreement with China did not replace “our longstanding relationships with New Zealand, Australia, and others” but rather complemented them, “ensuring that we have a diversified portfolio of partnerships.”
“We are grateful for New Zealand’s ongoing engagement, and we recognise the many ways in which we work together for mutual benefit,” he said.
“The rights and obligations codified in our relationship of free association are mutual, and while we may at times find matters in which our views diverge, it is imperative that we uphold the reciprocal nature of our relationship.”
POLITIK understands that Labour’s foreign affairs spokesperson, David Parker, supports Peters in the position he has taken.
(Parker is currently en route to Europe).
Brown has said that the attractiveness of China is that it has offered to help the Cooks with an inter-island ship, upgrade infrastructure, persuade Chinese tourists to come on to the Cooks from New Zealand, and help with climate change.
As Murray McCully told the Waikato Economic Forum last week, it is the little practical things that matter in the Pacific. China is good at that. New Zealand should be too.
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