By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand announced on Thursday it was suspending NZ$18.2 million ($10.97 million) in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the Cook Islands’ deepening ties with China.
A spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that the country’s core sector support funding relies on a high trust bilateral relationship and New Zealand decided in early June to pause the funding.
We “will also not consider significant new funding until the Cook Islands Government takes concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust,” the spokesperson said.
“New Zealand hopes that steps will be taken swiftly to address New Zealand’s concerns so that this support can be resumed as soon as possible.”
New Zealand along with Australia has become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific region and the potential threats it poses to the country’s national security. In January, the government halted new development funding to the Republic of Kiribati, an island in Micronesia.
The Cook Islands is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand. New Zealand commits to defend the South Pacific nation if asked, Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens, and the two countries commit to consult on security, defence and foreign policy issues.
Over the past three years, New Zealand has provided NZ$194.2 million to the Cook Islands through the development programme, according to the government.
In February, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown visited China and signed a strategic partnership that spanned areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excluded security ties.
This concerned New Zealand, which says the Cook Islands did not properly consult on the documents ahead of the signing, which breached the arrangement between the two countries.
The Cook Islands government had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing. The New Zealand government said Brown was told of the decision in early June by letter.
Peters’ spokesperson said that the agreements signed by the Cook Islands and China and the lack of consultation with New Zealand about them, illustrate a gap in understanding between the Cook Islands and New Zealand governments about what their special relationship of free association requires.
“Trust and meaningful engagement are fundamental to free association,” he said.
($1 = 1.6589 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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