The Cook Islands’ prime minister yesterday survived a no-confidence vote, blaming “misinformation” from former colonial ruler New Zealand for destabilizing his Pacific country.
The parliament voted 13 to nine against the motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Mark Brown’s government, sparked by a partnership deal he signed with China.
The agreement, sealed during a state visit to China this month, irked New Zealand’s government and worried some Cook Islanders keen to maintain close ties with Wellington.
Photo: AFP
However, Brown said that New Zealand media had sold short his consultation with Wellington on the China accord, as well as overblowing his now-defunct plan for a “symbolic” Cook Islands passport.
“This constant media barrage, Mr Speaker, has now led to destabilization in our country,” he told parliament. “This motion of no confidence has been built on misinformation.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) did not address the no-confidence vote directly when asked about it at a news conference in Beijing.
“China is willing to develop friendly and cooperative relations with the Cook Islands and other Pacific island countries on the basis of mutual respect and equality,” Lin said.
New Zealand has alleged a lack of consultation and transparency from the Cook Islands government over the five-year “action plan” for a comprehensive strategic partnership that was signed with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強).
Brown said his government had consulted “for months” with Wellington about the agreement, “but the messaging that goes out is that we never consult.”
The Cook Islands had also given assurances that the passport proposal — meant as a “symbolic passport of identity,” not a travel document — was now “a dead matter,” he said.
“It becomes very clear this is not about consultation. This is about control,” Brown said.
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that members of the Cook Islands parliament had the absolute right to free speech.
“Accordingly, we have no further comment to make,” they added.
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