New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters said he had repeated in a phone call to Mr Brown that he should discuss with New Zealand the contents of the so-called Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and other agreements that the Cook Islands’ prime minister intends to sign in China.
The Chinese foreign ministry said that it was ready to work with the Cook Islands to “achieve new progress” and that both the nations – New Zealand and the Cook Islands – remain Beijing’s important partners.
Why a deal with China has strained New Zealand’s ties with the Cook Islands Beijing’s growing influence in the South Pacific has hit the close relationship between Wellington and the Cook Islands.
A historic visit to China by the prime minister of the Cook Islands has strained ties with New Zealand, the prime benefactor of the small self governing South Pacific island nation.
A spokesperson for New Zealand's foreign ministry said it expected the Cook Islands government to fully consult Wellington on any major agreements it planned to enter that could "have major strategic and security implications".
