Cook Islands' strategic partnership with China stalled due to a lack of progress on key tasks

Three months after signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China, Cook Islands Foreign Affairs Minister Tingika Elikana confirmed that no progress had been made in implementing the potential projects under the agreements signed between the two countries.

Cook Islands signed the Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030 and three memorandums of understanding with China during Prime Minister Mark Brown's state visit from 10-14 February.

The agreement centres on economic, infrastructure and maritime cooperation, and seabed mineral development, among other areas. It does not include security or defence.

In an interview with Cook Islands News, Elikana said they have yet to re-engage with China following the signing of the agreements.

"Well, we haven't moved on yet," he said. "The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is now in the public eye but since then, nothing yet because we haven't engaged with China what's the next steps."

Elikana is scheduled to attend a Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting in China at the end of this month, but he does not anticipate significant developments during the visit.

"Not that much, in terms of our bilateral [relationship]. But I think the good thing with that is we have an agreement now in principle," he said. "I mean, that's there to guide our relationship with China. But implementing things within it, we haven't moved on yet."

The Pukapuka-Nassau MP emphasised that the government is still determining which projects require Chinese assistance.

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"We're trying to see what directions we need to take. We've got to look at the projects that we need, the Chinese assistance, the development project that we need the Chinese assistance for, but at the moment, we haven't identified those," Elikana explained.

He noted that the only ongoing project with China is related to shipping, which predates the agreement.

"The one that we are working with China is the shipping one and that has been well before the agreement was signed. So we want to deliver on that and look at what other areas that we need assistance from China."

In the supplementary budget tabled and passed in February, Cook Islands government allocated $3 million to procure a new vessel from China, which is providing the other half of the funding.

Regarding a timeline for implementing the agreements signed between Cook Islands and China, Elikana said there isn't one.

"I think the agreement is there to its expressions of our interest to work with each other and now it's a matter of identifying which areas of cooperation we will engage," he said.

Local residents rally in Rarotonga against the Cook Islands government. Photo/RNZ Pacific

Elikana reiterated the Cook Islands' commitment to its traditional partners, New Zealand and Australia.

"As I've always said, our first port of call is always with our traditional partners. If they can't assist us, then we look to other development partners," he stated.

The signing of agreements with China had irked New Zealand, with which Cook Islands shares a special relationship, including citizenship. New Zealand had raised concerns about a lack of consultation before these agreements, stating that the Cook Islands is required to consult New Zealand under the terms of the Joint Centenary Declaration of 2001.

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters earlier said that they would "review" the China-Cook Islands agreements before deciding on their next steps.

Elikana said there has been no recent communication from New Zealand on the Cook Islands' agreements with China.

"Well, I haven't heard from New Zealand, and I think my officials are trying their best to talk with New Zealand, and I know there's talks at the official levels," he said.

Cook Islands and Chinese officials in Rarotonga. Photo/Cook Islands Office of the Prime Minister

"We're looking forward to having our annual joint ministerial meetings with New Zealand and hopefully, at that time, we will have a talk about these matters, their concerns that's been raised when we signed with China on this comprehensive strategic partnership agreement."

Elikana added that discussions are ongoing at the official level, with hopes of elevating them to ministerial or prime ministerial levels.

"We're talking with New Zealand, and they're trying to fill us in and they're very busy these days. The Minister of Foreign Affairs seems to have been away from New Zealand, so we're waiting on that," he said.

"But there's a lot of talks at the official level to see that moving forward elevated to the ministerial, or even to the Prime Ministerial level."

This article was first published by Cook Islands News.