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Cook Islands

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Cook Islands. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Avarua

Head of State

King Charles III

Head of Government

Prime Minister Mark Brown

New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark. Photo: AFP

Pacific nations

Exclusive | New Zealand ‘must never be seen as a proxy’, former PM Helen Clark warns

Calling the US Pacific strategy a ‘game of bluff’, Clark urges Wellington to defend its independent foreign policy tradition.

3 Sep 2026 - 10:25AMvideocam

Pacific nations

Cook Islands PM re-elected despite row with New Zealand over China ties

18 Aug 2026 - 5:32PMvideocam

Environment

Opinion | The race for critical minerals is clearing the path for deep-sea mining

11 Aug 2026 - 5:30AM

China-Japan relations

Rising seas: Japan makes pitch to Pacific nations caught in US-China rivalry

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tells summit that Tokyo is committed to helping regional partners strengthen ‘autonomy and resilience’.

3 Jun 2026 - 3:00PM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (centre) poses with representatives from the region during the opening of the Island States Ocean Summit in Tokyo on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Pacific nations

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:37AM

Americas and the Caribbean

US forces board third Venezuela-linked oil tanker in Indian Ocean

The US military says it tracked the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, before placing it under American control.

25 Feb 2026 - 1:30PM

Pacific nations

How sanctioned Russian oil flows freely via a tiny Pacific island nation

Some 20 tankers registered in the microstate allegedly smuggled Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025 amid lax oversight.

2 Dec 2025 - 12:50PMvideocam

An oil tanker called the Eagle S (left), which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, sails in the Gulf of Finland last year. Photo: AFP

SCMP Highlights

How China is closing tech gap on West; rare earth find: SCMP daily highlights

From China’s ‘strategic new frontiers’ to scientists discovering rare earth minerals in a fern, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

12 Nov 2025 - 11:28PM

China-New Zealand relations

China and Cook Islands team up on marine survey as rare earths race expands to sea

Nine-day voyage comes just weeks after a US research ship conducts its own survey in the region.

12 Nov 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

New Zealand

New Zealand calls on US to counter China’s Pacific mineral push

New Zealand wants stronger ties with the US to shield Pacific allies from exploitation amid rare earth riches and growing geopolitical threats.

15 Oct 2025 - 7:25PMvideocam

A worker drives a skip loader at a rare earth metals mine in China’s Jiangxi province. Photo: Reuters

Pacific nations

Will New Zealand’s ‘patronising’ aid freeze push Cook Islands closer to China?

The funding cut leaves the Cook Islands facing a sudden financial shortfall, prompting warnings that Wellington’s approach could backfire.

29 Jun 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

Chinese Premier Li Qiang shakes hands with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown in February. Photo: Xinhua

Pacific nations

A drop in the ocean? Pacific nations tap local know-how for marine conservation

Among the measures being taken are a ban on fishing and mining activities in vast marine protected areas.

27 Jun 2025 - 9:30AM

China-New Zealand relations

‘No conflict of interest’ between China and New Zealand, Xi tells Luxon

New Zealand leader’s China trip focuses on trade and tourism, but differences over Pacific island ties cast a shadow.

20 Jun 2025 - 6:57PM

New Zealand

Cook Islands slams ‘patronising’ New Zealand over China deals

Prime Minister Mark Brown said the agreements did not ‘compromise’ his country’s sovereignty.

20 Jun 2025 - 2:16PM

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. Photo: AP

New Zealand

New Zealand suspends US$11 million Cook Islands funding over China deal

Wellington urged its neighbour to ‘take concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust’.

19 Jun 2025 - 3:48PMvideocam

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown (left) with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Harbin on February 14. Photo: Xinhua

China-Australia relations

New Zealand FM meets China’s Wang Yi in Beijing, raises PLA live-fire drills

The Chinese foreign minister tells Winston Peters that the two countries should trust each other and address differences through dialogue.

27 Feb 2025 - 7:27PM

Diplomacy

Opinion | New Zealand need not fear China’s growing ties with Pacific nations

Rather than falling victim to zero-sum illusions, the West must embrace the multiplex nature of Pacific diplomacy.

25 Feb 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Tourism

Where to travel in 2024, according to the experts – and where to avoid

Set-jetting will be a trend in 2024, reckons Expedia – Thailand may draw White Lotus 3 fans, for example. Lonely Planet wants sustainable travel to be a theme; places to avoid the crowds are a thing too.

22 Dec 2023 - 7:41AM

Twin towers of Viru Gate in the old town of Tallinn, Estonia Photo: Shutterstock

Pacific nations

Australia-Tuvalu treaty sparks fears of population drain, threat to sovereignty

Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu may provide younger locals with a migration pathway but is seen by older islanders as an encroachment of sovereignty.

2 Dec 2023 - 5:31PM

Pacific nations

Solomon Islands hosts China-funded Pacific Games amid big-power rivalry

Solomon Islands’ PM Manasseh Sogavare has alarmed the West with his pro-Beijing engagement and increasingly authoritarian reflexes. He told This Week in Asia that Honiara’s ties with China ‘were never better’.

21 Nov 2023 - 12:14PM

Pacific nations

Cracks emerge in Pacific island unity as leaders skip meet amid US-China rivalry

The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will not attend this week’s annual Pacific Islands Forum, which also counts Australia and New Zealand among its members.

6 Nov 2023 - 3:27PMvideocam

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (front) takes a selfie with fellow leaders during last year’s Pacific Islands Forum. Photo: AFP

Pacific nations

China’s Pacific aid mostly goes to its allies, Australian think tank says

China’s declining aid to the South Pacific is increasingly targeted towards its political allies as the region’s appetite for Chinese credit declines and competition grows with the US for influence, the Lowy Institute reported on Tuesday.

31 Oct 2023 - 4:20PM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in January 2020. Photo: Reuters

Pacific nations

US deal with Marshall Islands lapses without renewal, but talks continue

The Compact of Free Association pact, which has steered ties between Washington and the Marshall Islands since 1986, expired on Saturday.

3 Oct 2023 - 6:40AMvideocam

United States

My Take | What independence really means for two tiny Pacific island states

Self-governing Cook Islands and Niue have exchanged their freedom in political association with New Zealand for dominated status under the United States.

29 Sep 2023 - 9:00PM

Pacific nations

US throws weight behind new Pacific undersea cable to fend off China influence

The Central Pacific Cable would connect American Samoa with Guam and extend to up to 12 more Pacific islands.

28 Sep 2023 - 11:42AMvideocam

The US and China are battling to control the world’s undersea cables. Photo: Shutterstock

Pacific nations

China-friendly Solomons PM says he snubbed US summit to avoid ‘lecture’

Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’

28 Sep 2023 - 9:17AM

US President Joe Biden poses with leaders from the Pacific island nations during a summit in Washington on September 25. Photo: AP

My Take

My Take | Why Beijing’s security pact with Solomons has been a huge blunder

Islands provide perfect example of ‘China threat’ for US and its allies as they then turn central and south Pacific into their sphere of influence.

27 Sep 2023 - 9:00PM

US-China relations

Biden unveils Pacific nations aid, embassies as Solomons PM sits out

American leader extols ‘security, prosperity and dignity’ for Oceanic allies and partners in latest response to China’s decades-long inroads in region.

26 Sep 2023 - 6:25AM

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Cook Islands

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}Exclusive | New Zealand ‘must never be seen as a proxy’, former PM Helen Clark warns

Calling the US Pacific strategy a ‘game of bluff’, Clark urges Wellington to defend its independent foreign policy tradition.

Cook Islands PM re-elected despite row with New Zealand over China ties

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | The race for critical minerals is clearing the path for deep-sea mining

Rising seas: Japan makes pitch to Pacific nations caught in US-China rivalry

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tells summit that Tokyo is committed to helping regional partners strengthen ‘autonomy and resilience’.

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

US forces board third Venezuela-linked oil tanker in Indian Ocean

The US military says it tracked the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, before placing it under American control.

How sanctioned Russian oil flows freely via a tiny Pacific island nation

Some 20 tankers registered in the microstate allegedly smuggled Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025 amid lax oversight.

How China is closing tech gap on West; rare earth find: SCMP daily highlights

From China’s ‘strategic new frontiers’ to scientists discovering rare earth minerals in a fern, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

China and Cook Islands team up on marine survey as rare earths race expands to sea

Nine-day voyage comes just weeks after a US research ship conducts its own survey in the region.

New Zealand calls on US to counter China’s Pacific mineral push

New Zealand wants stronger ties with the US to shield Pacific allies from exploitation amid rare earth riches and growing geopolitical threats.

Will New Zealand’s ‘patronising’ aid freeze push Cook Islands closer to China?

The funding cut leaves the Cook Islands facing a sudden financial shortfall, prompting warnings that Wellington’s approach could backfire.

A drop in the ocean? Pacific nations tap local know-how for marine conservation

Among the measures being taken are a ban on fishing and mining activities in vast marine protected areas.

‘No conflict of interest’ between China and New Zealand, Xi tells Luxon

New Zealand leader’s China trip focuses on trade and tourism, but differences over Pacific island ties cast a shadow.

Cook Islands slams ‘patronising’ New Zealand over China deals

Prime Minister Mark Brown said the agreements did not ‘compromise’ his country’s sovereignty.

New Zealand suspends US$11 million Cook Islands funding over China deal

Wellington urged its neighbour to ‘take concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust’.

New Zealand FM meets China’s Wang Yi in Beijing, raises PLA live-fire drills

The Chinese foreign minister tells Winston Peters that the two countries should trust each other and address differences through dialogue.

Opinion | New Zealand need not fear China’s growing ties with Pacific nations

Rather than falling victim to zero-sum illusions, the West must embrace the multiplex nature of Pacific diplomacy.

Where to travel in 2024, according to the experts – and where to avoid

Set-jetting will be a trend in 2024, reckons Expedia – Thailand may draw White Lotus 3 fans, for example. Lonely Planet wants sustainable travel to be a theme; places to avoid the crowds are a thing too.

Australia-Tuvalu treaty sparks fears of population drain, threat to sovereignty

Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu may provide younger locals with a migration pathway but is seen by older islanders as an encroachment of sovereignty.

Solomon Islands hosts China-funded Pacific Games amid big-power rivalry

Solomon Islands’ PM Manasseh Sogavare has alarmed the West with his pro-Beijing engagement and increasingly authoritarian reflexes. He told This Week in Asia that Honiara’s ties with China ‘were never better’.

Cracks emerge in Pacific island unity as leaders skip meet amid US-China rivalry

The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will not attend this week’s annual Pacific Islands Forum, which also counts Australia and New Zealand among its members.

China’s Pacific aid mostly goes to its allies, Australian think tank says

China’s declining aid to the South Pacific is increasingly targeted towards its political allies as the region’s appetite for Chinese credit declines and competition grows with the US for influence, the Lowy Institute reported on Tuesday.

US deal with Marshall Islands lapses without renewal, but talks continue

The Compact of Free Association pact, which has steered ties between Washington and the Marshall Islands since 1986, expired on Saturday.

My Take | What independence really means for two tiny Pacific island states

Self-governing Cook Islands and Niue have exchanged their freedom in political association with New Zealand for dominated status under the United States.

US throws weight behind new Pacific undersea cable to fend off China influence

The Central Pacific Cable would connect American Samoa with Guam and extend to up to 12 more Pacific islands.

China-friendly Solomons PM says he snubbed US summit to avoid ‘lecture’

Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’

My Take | Why Beijing’s security pact with Solomons has been a huge blunder

Islands provide perfect example of ‘China threat’ for US and its allies as they then turn central and south Pacific into their sphere of influence.

Biden unveils Pacific nations aid, embassies as Solomons PM sits out

American leader extols ‘security, prosperity and dignity’ for Oceanic allies and partners in latest response to China’s decades-long inroads in region.

Exclusive | New Zealand ‘must never be seen as a proxy’, former PM Helen Clark warns

Opinion | The race for critical minerals is clearing the path for deep-sea mining