Anna Powles: Massey University associate professor of security studies on the state of New Zealand's relationship with the Pacific nations

Concerns have been rising about a possible diplomatic row between New Zealand and the Cook Islands.

A couple of weeks ago, Foreign Minister Winston Peters publicly admonished the President of Kiribati for refusing to engage - and diplomatic aid was put under review.

Peters also recently released a harsh statement directed at Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown as Brown prepares to sign a deal in China this week - a deal New Zealand hasn't been consulted about.

Massey University's Anna Powles says these incidents are 'unusual' and don't reflect the diplomatic engagement between both nations.

"It certainly doesn't reflect the type of more sensitive diplomatic engagement that we're used to New Zealand conducting in the region."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is going on with New Zealand's relationship with Pacific nations.
A couple of weeks ago, it was Winston telling off
the president of Kidabas for refusing a meeting, and over
the weekend the Foreign mister releasing a very harsh statement
directed at the Cook Islands and their Prime Minister Mark Brown.
Now he's off swaning around Beijing at the moment, signing

(00:22):
a deal that we don't know the contents of the
Opposition doesn't know the contents of in the Cooks. Anna
Pols is an associate professor in Secure Studies at Massi University.
She joins me this afternoon, Hianna. Is it unusual to
have two spats like this in such a short space
of time.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, I think for New Zealand it is particularly unusual
and it certainly doesn't reflect the type of more sensitive
diplomatic engagement that we are we are used to New
Zealand conducting in the region.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
With the issue to do with the Cook Islands, there's
been a suggestion, in fact, Matthew Howton's written an article
today in The Herald and he has said that the
Prime Minister should be looking, should be considering at the
very least getting advice on military options to deal with this.
Do you think that's a little over the top.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
I think that's extraordinarily irresponsible and pretty ill informed actually,
as a response to what's happened with between New Zealand
and Cook Olans.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
But they are technically part of our country, aren't they.
They're part of our realm. The are New Zealand citizens
as well, I suppose, and we're supposed to handle the
defense side of things. We're supposed to handle the foreign affairs.
So if they'reof you know, being wined and dined in
Beijing's signing deals we don't know about, then that should
be concerning for us, shouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, I think it's important to be clear that actually,
under the two thousand and one Declaration between New Zealand
and the Islands, when it comes to the conduct of
its foreign affairs, the Cook Islands can do so as
a sovereign, independent actor within the international community. So they
are very much in their rights to participate and to

(02:18):
undertake foreign policy decisions themselves without oversight from New Zealand.
What the two thousand and one Declaration does call for
is for both parties to undertake consultation with the other
on foreign policy issues which may be of concern, and
this obviously is an issue that is of concern.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
So they are breaching that agreement.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
No, well, they are probably breaching the spirit of it. Certainly,
there is obviously a clear expectation by Foreign Minister Peters
that Prime Minister Mark Brown and the Cook Islands government
would have discussed the agreement with China before perhaps entering
into it. And obviously two thousand and one when that

(03:06):
declaration was signed between Wellington and Raratana, it was a
very different strategic environment than it is now. So New
Zealand's concerns with respect to China as an increasingly influential
actor and a disruptive actor in the Pacific are valid.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Thank you very much for your time this afternoon. Andre
Analysis Anna Pol's Associate Professor and Security Studies at Massi University.
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