New Zealand Cuts Millions in Funding to Cook Islands Over China Ties
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New Zealand has cut millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands due to the island group’s deepening ties with China.
A spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on June 18 that New Zealand had decided earlier this month to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million ($11 million) in development funding for 2025–26 as this “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.”
The people of the Cook Islands, a self-governing country, are historically and culturally aligned with New Zealand and possess New Zealand passports.
Wellington said it was not properly consulted at the time despite the two nations’ constitutional ties.
New Zealand “will also not consider significant new funding until the Cook Islands Government takes concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust,” Peters’s spokesperson said on Thursday.
“New Zealand hopes that steps will be taken swiftly to address New Zealand’s concerns so that this support can be resumed as soon as possible.”
The news comes as New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is in China and is due to have an official meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Speaking to the media in Shanghai on Thursday, Luxon downplayed the CCP’s role in the dispute.
“As you know, our issue is really with the Cook Islands. It’s between Cook Islands and New Zealand. It’s about them not being transparent about international agreements,” he said.
“It is non-binding and focused on the Cook Islands climate and economic resilience, sustainable development, and marine science,” the statement reads.
“The Cook Islands has consistently stressed that New Zealand remains our closest partner for security and defence and that position remains unchanged.”
RUSI said the Cook Islands maritime domain, which is rich in marine resources and critical minerals such as manganese, cobalt, and polymetallic nodules, is difficult to manage effectively.
But its vastness and remoteness make it susceptible to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and exploitation of marine and mineral resources, waste dumping, and a range of potential nontraditional security risks.
It said the CCP’s engagement with Pacific Island Countries follows a consistent pattern: economic assistance, grants, and loans without due diligence; untenable infrastructure investments; and diplomatic recognition manoeuvres.
“Through a clever mix of ‘cheque-book diplomacy’ and ‘no-strings-attached’ aid policy, China has cultivated strong ties with several Pacific Island countries, including Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea,” the report reads.
The Chinese regime has a “long-standing presence in the Pacific, but we are seriously concerned by increased engagement in Pacific security sectors,” he said in a speech to the New Zealand China Council last year.
Despite New Zealand’s “One China” policy, Peters expressed concern that Beijing’s actions would exacerbate tensions in the Taiwan Strait and human rights issues.
“We expect China to adhere to the principles and commitments that underpin internationally agreed human rights framework, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other core human rights treaties,” he said in his speech.
“We have consistently made clear our serious concerns about human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and violations of human rights in Hong Kong, and in Tibet. We will continue to call on China to uphold its obligations.”
The remote island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania could be deepening its ties with Beijing. Kiribati held talks with China in March over exploring deep-sea mining opportunities.
