Wellington, New Zealand — New Zealand and the Cook Islands signed a defense and security agreement on Thursday, relaxing stress for more than a year Among Pacific countries over the Cook Islands’ deepening ties with China.
The catastrophic diplomatic standoff that prompted Wellington Stop millions of dollars in aid For Awarua it was hardly a clash of geopolitical giants: New Zealand has a population of 5 million, while the Cook Islands have 15,000. But the lengthy blockage has troubled Pacific observers because it reflects the struggle of small island nations with close ties to Western countries such as New Zealand and Australia as they seek to balance their traditional alliances with Beijing’s overtures.
In the new declaration, the Cook Islands promised that New Zealand would be “its preferred partner with respect to defense and security matters”, apparently dismissing Wellington’s fears of China taking over this role. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said it resolved “ambiguity” about the two countries’ current relationship.
When Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown signed comprehensive strategic partnership between his country and China during a visit to Beijing in February 2025, it caused concern in Wellington because Brown would not first disclose the contents of the deal, with New Zealand officials refusing to accept that it could have security implications. The Cook Islands is a self-governing country that has a 60-year free association with New Zealand, meaning it is defended by the New Zealand military, and citizens can live and work freely in New Zealand.
The link requires Cook Islands leaders to consult with Wellington on deals with other countries that may affect New Zealand. Brown defended his decision not to disclose the contents of his agreement with China, which he described as unnecessary under his country’s existing agreement with Wellington.
New Zealand – the Cook Islands’ largest beneficiary – withheld millions of dollars in aid over the episode, although this was not a large amount of the total funding contributed by Wellington. That aid will now flow again, Peters told reporters on Thursday during a visit to the Cook Islands, where he and Brown signed the new agreement.
“This announcement seeks to remove previous ambiguity about the nature of the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, particularly as it relates to defense and security,” Peters said.
China said Thursday that relations with the Cook Islands are “not directed at any third party, nor should it be subject to interference or obstacles by any third party” and that everyone should respect the autonomy of any Pacific islands.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have always treated each other equally with mutual respect and pursued common development,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said during a daily briefing in Beijing. “We look forward to deepening practical cooperation with the Cook Islands to continue to enhance the well-being of both peoples.”
The Cook Islands, an archipelago of 15 islands in the vast South Pacific Ocean, are one of many small nations in the region It must bow to Beijing, which has offered aid, loans and deals to expand its influence across the Pacific. The sparsely populated South Pacific is considered strategically important and many of its countries have large and lucrative exclusive economic zones, including the Cook Islands, where Brown is exploring the possibility of mining deep sea minerals.
“The strategic environment we face today is more complex and challenging than at any other point since New Zealand and the Cook Islands formed our free association relationship in 1965,” Peters said on Thursday.
Cook Islanders hold New Zealand passports, which is why the deal with China caused so much frustration over security in Wellington. Brown suggested in October 2024 that he would consider the creation of a separate Cook Islands passport, a plan he later shelved, saying New Zealand had “bitten its teeth” on the matter.
“It is no secret that there have been many serious disagreements between our two governments since the end of 2024,” Peters said on Thursday.
However, the two leaders shrugged off questions about what the declaration between New Zealand and the Cook Islands meant for Awarua’s earlier agreement with Beijing, which covered matters such as deep-sea mining, infrastructure and educational scholarships but did not contain explicit security elements. Brown told reporters that the agreement with New Zealand would not affect his country’s other agreements.
But Brown said, “New Zealand will be our first port of call on any issue relating to defense and security.”
