By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. has begun talks with the Cook Islands for research on seabed minerals exploration and development, the State Department said on Tuesday.
The Cook Islands lie halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii and are made up of 15 islands and atolls. The country in 2021 had a population of 15,040.
Western nations that traditionally held sway in the Pacific Islands have become increasingly concerned about China’s plans to increase influence after Beijing signed defense, trade and financial deals with Pacific countries in recent years.
Earlier this year, a strategic partnership deal between China and the Cook Islands was signed. It spanned areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excluded security ties.
“The Government of the United States of America has begun discussions with the Government of the Cook Islands to support the research necessary to inform seabed exploration and responsible development within the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” the Statement Department said in a statement.
U.S.-linked firms “sit at the forefront” of deep seabed mineral research and exploration in the Cook Islands, it said.
The Cook Islands was within the New Zealand borders from 1901. In 1965, it became self governing but in free association with New Zealand.
It has its own government and King Charles III is its head of state. Cook Islanders have New Zealand citizenship and passports. They have the same rights as a New Zealander such as the ability to work, go to school and use the medical system.
In June, New Zealand suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands as the relationship continued to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Ross Colvin, Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.)
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