Published: 1:44pm, 18 Feb 2025Updated: 2:45pm, 18 Feb 2025
The Cook Islands’ prime minister on Tuesday defended a new partnership pact with China and urged his country not to depend on handouts from “big brother” New Zealand.
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Prime Minister Mark Brown said the accord signed with Beijing offered his small Pacific nation opportunities in trade, infrastructure and the sustainable use of ocean resources.
“We can choose to be a country that relies on handouts and is dependent on our big brother or we can choose to be a country that can stand on its own two feet and can engage in constructive partnerships of mutual benefit,” he told parliament.
“Our journey as a self-governing nation is not one of isolation, but of partnership and engagement.”
New Zealand has alleged a lack of consultation and transparency over the agreement, signed with Premier Li Qiang during a state visit by Brown to China last week.
The self-governing Cook Islands, a country of 17,000 people, has a “free association” relationship with its former colonial ruler New Zealand, which provides budgetary assistance as well as helping on foreign affairs and defence.