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.

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