New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands. The government is taking that action because of several agreements the smaller Pacific nation has made with China.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the Cook Islands had not been transparent about its strategic partnership with China.
Luxon is back in New Zealand following his first official visit to China last week.
Relations between several smaller Pacific Island nations and their regional backers, Australia and New Zealand, have faltered in recent years as Beijing looks to raise its influence in the region.
The latest move by New Zealand reflects growing friction between the two countries with strong constitutional ties over their approaches to managing relations with Beijing.
The Cook Islands are self-governing but share a military and passports with New Zealand.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown told lawmakers in Parliament last week that the funding was “paused” and downplayed the significance of the $11 million that was frozen. New Zealand is the biggest funder for the Cook Islands.
News of the funding halt only emerged when a Cook Islands news outlet saw it mentioned briefly in a government budget document.
The agreements Brown signed with China in February did not promise security cooperation between Beijing and the Cook Islands. But they did pledge more funding from China for infrastructure projects and educational scholarships. Only some of the documents Brown signed were publicly released.
