WELLINGTON — New Zealand and the Cook Islands signed a defense and security pact on April 2, 2026, in Wellington, following more than a year of tension over the Cook Islands' deepening ties with China. Under the declaration, the Cook Islands pledged that New Zealand would be its partner of choice on defense and security matters.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the previously frozen aid to the Cook Islands would resume following the signing. "This declaration seeks to remove previous ambiguity about the nature of the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, especially as it pertains to defense and security," he said.

"The strategic environment we face is more complex and contested today than at any other point since New Zealand and the Cook Islands formed our free association relationship in 1965," Peters said.

The tension began after Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown signed a comprehensive strategic partnership with China in Beijing in February 2025. Brown declined to disclose the contents of that agreement, saying disclosure was unnecessary under existing accords with New Zealand. The free association links between the two countries require Cook Islands leaders to consult with New Zealand on deals with other countries that might affect New Zealand.

The dispute prompted New Zealand to freeze millions of dollars in aid to the Cook Islands' capital, Avarua. The frozen amount was not a large share of the total funding New Zealand contributes to the Cook Islands.

Brown said New Zealand would be the Cook Islands' first port of call on defense and security matters but added that the agreement does not affect the Cook Islands' other pacts. In October 2024, Brown had suggested he would consider creating a separate Cook Islands passport, a proposal he said New Zealand strongly opposed.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China's relationship with the Cook Islands is not directed at any third party and should not be subject to interference or constraints by any third party. "Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have always treated each other on equal footing with mutual respect and pursued common development," Mao said. "We are willing to deepen practical cooperation with Cook Islands to continuously enhance the well-being of the two peoples."

The Cook Islands is a self-governing country that has been in free association with New Zealand for 60 years. Under that arrangement, New Zealand's military provides defense to the archipelago of 15 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, and Cook Islands citizens can live and work freely in New Zealand. The Cook Islands holds a large exclusive economic zone. China has offered aid, loans and deals throughout the Pacific region.