NZ warns Pacific sovereignty at risk in deep sea resource race

New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins has warned that Pacific island nations are under growing pressure from global powers competing for control of the region’s rich seabed minerals and fisheries.

Collins, who visited Washington last week, says the Pacific is becoming a “strategic crossroads” for aid, development, influence, resources, and security.

She says the Pacific was becoming a “strategic crossroads”, not just for aid or development, but for influence, resources and security.

“The Pacific has enormous wealth,” she says. “But it’s just not in the hands of the people. I don’t want to see the promises of mineral wealth for those countries being basically raped and pillaged from them.”

The South Pacific seabed holds vast deposits of rare-earth minerals - cobalt, nickel and copper essential to electric vehicles, clean-energy technologies and defence systems.

But with regulations still unclear and mining interests rising, small island states are being courted by larger powers offering investment or infrastructure in exchange for access.

Collins says those pressures risked undermining sovereignty. “We need to ensure they are not exploited,” she told reporters, urging partners like Australia and the United States to help Pacific nations maintain control over their resources.

While she did not single out any country, Collins' comments come amid intensifying competition between China and Western allies across the region.

Beijing has expanded its reach through fisheries, infrastructure and security deals, while New Zealand and Australia have boosted defence cooperation and aid.

Collins’ remarks mark a subtle but major shift in Wellington’s tone - from viewing the Pacific mainly through a development lens to treating it as a strategic and security priority.

Analysts say the issue now extends beyond economics. Deep sea mining poses environmental and governance challenges that could leave smaller nations exposed.

Some, including Fiji and Vanuatu, back a moratorium on seabed mining; others, like the Cook Islands, are developing national frameworks to proceed under stricter conditions.

Collins has hinted that New Zealand will increase maritime surveillance and regional defence collaboration.

“I also say to the US that you are a Pacific nation,” she adds, calling for shared responsibility in safeguarding the region.

As global demand for critical minerals grows, the battle for the Pacific’s deep-sea resources is moving from abstract policy to pressing reality, testing how island nations can balance prosperity, sovereignty and environmental protection.