The United States has begun discussions with the Cook Islands to survey and potentially develop seabed minerals in the archipelago’s vast exclusive economic zone, a step that could reshape strategic competition with China in the South Pacific.
The State Department said on Tuesday that the two governments had “begun discussions … to support the research necessary to inform seabed exploration and responsible development within the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone.”
It added that U.S-linked companies “sit at the forefront” of deep-sea mineral research in the territory.
Washington’s initiative follows a “strategic partnership” the Cook Islands signed with China earlier this year, which covered areas from deep-sea mining to scholarships but specifically ruled out security ties. Western capitals have grown increasingly anxious about Beijing’s economic reach in Pacific island states that control more than 15 million sq km of ocean.
A U.S. official said the talks aimed to ensure that any mining of cobalt- and nickel-rich polymetallic nodules is carried out “to the highest environmental standards”, although the Cook Islands has yet to license full-scale extraction. Independent studies estimate the Pacific seabed could supply more than 20 % of the world’s demand for battery metals by 2040.
Home to about 15,000 people, the Cook Islands has been self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1965, with King Charles III as head of state. In June, New Zealand suspended several million New Zealand dollars in budget support, citing concern at the island group’s deepening ties with Beijing.
The State Department did not set a timetable for the research programme but said any future commercial activity would require “transparent regulation and strong scientific data.”
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, who also holds the mining portfolio, has previously said seabed resources could diversify an economy reliant on tourism, which accounts for more than half of GDP.
Armenia is looking to turn shared environmental challenges into opportunities for regional cooperation, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlig...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It com...
In an interview with AnewZ’s Sabir Safarov, Houthi-aligned journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti warns of possible attacks on Saudi Arabia’...
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
A Norwegian teenager recruited by a Swedish criminal network to carry out a contract killing in Britain has been sentenced to 20 years’ detention after police uncovered the murder plot.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Romanian rescuers resumed their search for seven missing sailors on Friday (16 October) after a drone strike set a chemical tanker ablaze near the country’s Black Sea coast. The attacks have raised fresh security concerns along a vital regional trade route.
Students, lecturers and university staff marched on Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand President Javier Milei’s government implement a university funding law which would boost staff salaries and increase financial support to institutions to cover operating costs
A 16-year-old shooter opened fire on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon in the United States, killing four people, including three children, before being killed by an armed member of the community who had pursued the assailant into the school, police said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment