Cook Islands PM beats no-confidence vote over China deals

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown survived on Wednesday a vote of no-confidence in parliament brought by the opposition over deals he struck with China that strained relations with New Zealand.

Members of parliament voted 13-9 to defeat the motion introduced by the Cook Islands United Party. Two members abstained from voting.

The government holds 14 seats in the 24-seat unicameral parliament while the opposition holds 10.

Opposition lawmaker Teariki Heather, who moved the motion to oust Brown’s cabinet, said: “We want to stand on our own two feet and make our own decisions, but there’s a big ‘but’ there.

“Who has supported us during the past? Our relationship with New Zealand.”

Brown visited Beijing this month to strike a strategic partnership with China spanning education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management and seabed mining.