Cook Islands PM survives no-confidence vote over China pact

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By Christine Chen

(Reuters) – Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown survived on Wednesday a vote of no confidence in parliament brought by the opposition over deals he struck with China that strained relations with New Zealand.

Members of parliament voted 13-9 to defeat the motion introduced by the Cook Islands United Party. Two members abstained from voting.

The government holds 14 seats in the 24-seat unicameral parliament while the opposition holds 10.

Opposition lawmaker Teariki Heather, who moved the motion to oust Brown’s cabinet, said: “We want to stand on our own two feet and make our own decisions, but there’s a big ‘but’ there.

“Who has supported us during the past? Our relationship with New Zealand.”

Brown visited Beijing this month to strike a strategic partnership with China spanning education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management and seabed mining.

His dealings set off alarm bells in New Zealand, with which it has constitutional ties, due to concerns about China’s growing presence in the region and the potential threats to the country’s national security.

But Brown told parliament it was his responsibility to seek out “every opportunity that benefits our people”.

“Just as New Zealand and Australia and other nations pursue economic partnerships that serve their national interest, we too must act in our own personal interests,” he said.

The Cook Islands is a self-governing nation and maintains free association with Wellington, sharing King Charles as their head of state, as well as citizenship rights.

It is permitted an independent foreign policy, but the two countries are required to consult on security, defence and foreign policy issues.

(Reporting by Christine Chen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)