New Zealand’s Peters Weighs in on Cook Islands’ China Deal

Mid-February’s Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA) conference in Wellington was opened by New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Winston Peters. His address was marked by his usual cheekiness – making a number of sly jokes designed to get a reaction from the press, which he punctuated with a mischievous grin. Throughout the speech he also referred to himself in the first person plural (“our” and “we,” in place of “my” and “I”), and incorrectly pronounced Kiribati multiple times, presumably on purpose. All standard Peters stuff. He’s a man who enjoys the thrust and parry between politicians and the media and isn’t afraid of the fourth estate, unlike most of his antipodean colleagues.

Yet there was also some serious substance to his speech as well. Days beforehand, the Cook Islands – a country in free association with New Zealand – had signed a new strategic partnership with China on economic, infrastructure, and maritime cooperation, as well as potential seabed mineral development. This is of great concern to New Zealand, and Peters saw PIPSA as the appropriate forum to address these concerns.

Peters highlighted that Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens. They hold New Zealand passports and are afforded all the same rights as New Zealanders who live in New Zealand. Because of this, Peters was keen to stress that, “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.”

Alongside this, Peters added, “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.” That is something Peters reiterated did not happen on this occasion in regard to these new agreements with China.

Peters highlighted that this was not a new position for Wellington, quoting former Prime Minister Helen Clarke from 2001 who asserted that Cook Islanders maintain New Zealand citizenship “on the basis that there will continue to be a mutually acceptable standard of values in Cook Islands’ laws and policies.”

Peters continued: 

“Given this lack of consultation, the New Zealand Government, once it has seen the text of all of the agreements that were signed, will need to undertake its own careful analysis of how they impact our vital national interests. Only then will we be able to fully gauge the deals’ impact on the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands.”

Due to this new agreement with China, Peters was honest that “[w]hile the connection between the people of the Cook Islands and New Zealand remains resolutely strong, we currently face challenges in the government-to-government relationship.” Peters noted that “this state of affairs – disagreements and debates between the leaders of New Zealand and the Cook Islands – has been a periodic feature of our 60 years of free association.” However, as a result of current challenges “we will also need to find a way, as we did in 1973 and 2001, to formally re-state the mutual responsibilities and obligations that we have for one another and the overall parameters and constraints of the free association model.”

Peters acknowledged that Cook Islanders are always free to choose full independence should they wish, but he stressed that “our free association relationship in its current form has endured because the overwhelming majority of Cook Islands people have wanted to maintain their New Zealand citizenship and passport and the rights it affords them to the same opportunities and privileges as all other New Zealanders, including in health and education. The wishes of the Cook Islands people are paramount here.”

The situation is one that is increasingly fraught in the Pacific. Pacific Islands face a set of natural geographic constraints that make economic opportunities, infrastructure development, and service delivery difficult. China’s considerable resources offer an extraordinary opportunity to overcome these constraints. But China’s model of governance and geopolitical interests also mean these opportunities can come with significant costs.

Wellington recognizes these costs, but the New Zealand government is also coming from a position of relative privilege in terms of how it is able to conduct its economic affairs and service delivery. If New Zealand wishes to prevent the Cook Islands from seeking opportunities with China, then it may need to find a way to provide the resources that Beijing is offering itself.