Comrades, I know you are all busy coping with the cost of living crisis and struggling just pay the bills, but China is invading NZ…
Should New Zealand invade the Cook Islands? – Matthew Hooton
- Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown is going to China to sign the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and other agreements.
- The Cook Islands is part of the realm of New Zealand – with New Zealand responsible for the Cook Islands’ foreign policy and national defence.
- Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens, with the rights and responsibilities that come with that.
The Cabinet must decide today how to deal with the Cook Islands crisis.
Make no mistake: Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s dealings with Chinaare clearly about secession from the realm of New Zealand. That is not in New Zealand’s interests, any more than Taranaki suddenly signing treaties with Australia or deciding it wanted to be part of New South Wales would be.
Brown’s moves with China are clearly outside his legal obligations to New Zealand, which is responsible for the Cook Islands’ foreign policy and national defence. Moreover, Cook Islanders, including Brown, are New Zealand citizens, with the rights and responsibilities that come with that.
New Zealand asserting its authority over Brown’s renegade government would not be a foreign invasion of the Cook Islands, like, say, the United States taking military action against Canada, Mexico, Greenland or Panama.
…as much as it pains me to admit it, Hooton is right.
The Cook Islands are constitutionally part of the Realm of NZ, they can not sign any international agreement without our agreement and in return all Cook Islanders are NZ residents with all the privileges that brings.
To allow the Chinese a secret deal before New Zealand is even aware of its contents is an act of treason against the NZ state.
This is the crisis that Winston Peters was born for, we need Winston right now to escalate this issue the way he has been forced with Kiribati.
If our Pacific Neighbours want to trade in their whanau links with us in New Zealand and all the goodwill that brings for a despotic Communist Authoritarian regime who will over run them and rob them of their economic sovereignty and mana, they are welcome to, but don’t expect New Zealand to be quiet about such a tragic and doomed choice.
It is also a burning reminder that while we don’t want to be anywhere near Trump’s America, we can’t pretend China is no longer benign and we urgently need to wake up to the influence of Chinese business interests in New Zealand and our Trade dependence on Beijing driven by a Farming lobby with far too much political muscle and no Plan B.
Having an Independent Foreign Policy demands we spend more on our military.
Neutrality and a far more savvy economic sovereignty platform should be our goal rather than being dictated to by Xi or Trump.
That fight begins in our Pacific Neighbourhood.
The Cook Islands is constitutionally part of the Realm of NZ, that they are cutting a secret deal with the Chinese without talking to us about it is an enormous slap in the face to NZ from an Island that is our constitutional responsibility to help them with defense, foreign affairs, and disasters!
This deal with China is VERY MUCH inside our wheel house and without any oversight or agreement with us represents a National Security issue.
I am not surprised the media aren’t leading with this because the media are very stupid.
This is a political crisis in our Realm which most journalists in news rooms don’t know existed in the first place.
Hooton is right, New Zealand may have to send in the SAS.
Meanwhile, Trump is milliseconds from learning we don’t do nukes and will demand a nuclear powered and armed ship visit Wellington harbour immediately as a virtue signal stunt to China.
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While the Cook Islands are part of the realm of NZ I can understand them comparing our government (elected by the people) and China then thinking that China is a better alternative. That doesn’t make their choice correct but sending a long-term con man like Winston Peters there to solve the problem is not my first choice either. We need to provide them good reasons to want to stay with us and inform them what they will lose by abandoning us in a way that increases their trust in us as using fear to modify anyone’s behavior is only ever a short term solution.
They are politicians. They are the CCP. Nothing more.
Is that Reds under the bed or Chinks under the sink? The 1960s want their headlines back.
Or Sam in the pan…
Let’s hope Trump, otherwise known as the eye of Mordor doesn’t read the daily blog.
One phone call is all it takes – “Mr Brown proceed with this and you and your Island lose your citizenship, welfare payments and heck we will slap a departure fee on flights to Rarotonga.”
The deal would be gone in 60 seconds.
Sadly nobody in NZ has the balls to do what needs to be done
I’m not sure that “nuclear” is still the political third rail that it is often made out to be. Time, politics, and geopolitics will tell.
Let’s just cut the Cook Islands loose – they surely benefit from the current ‘arrangement’ more than we do?
The Cook Islands became British only in 1900. In 1901 they were incorporated into the Colony of New Zealand by Order in Council of the United Kingdom. The Cook Islanders had no say in whether they were to become part of the Colony of New Zealand.
All peoples have the natural right of self-determination. As far as I am concerned the Cooks can go their own way. The Realm of New Zealand’s historical claims over the Cook Islands are flimsy to say the least.
All peoples also have a right to know what their governments are up to. Perhaps the Cooks government could be more open with its people. Perhaps it is ill-advised to be entering into close relations with the PRC. But it is astonishing that the Realm of New Zealand, which has abjectly surrendered its own claims to sovereignty over the territory of New Zealand and conducts all important business in the utmost secrecy, should now claim that the Cooks collusion with a foreign power and lack of transparency in government, gives the colonialist regime in New Zealand the right to intervene in the business of the Cook Islands.
The King needs to be asked to dismiss the Cook Islands PM. It has been done before in Australia.
So please explain the harm in nuclear powered ships entering our waters.They are less polluting than oil our diesel. While no expert I understood none of the warships had nuclear weapons on board
The USS Queenfish (the last US submarine to visit NZ in 1983) 100% had Nuclear Weapons on board.
what the fuck has that got to do with the fucken cook islands idiot .You are just trying to deflect from the fact that once again the bald cunt and his wanna be Maori minister have dropped the ball and now the Cooks have said fuck you .Wher are all your moaning orchard mated going to get their cheap RSE workers form now .Oh fuck they might have to employ kiwis again at the real rates .
Read the last line of the article before you shout out and look silly.
If we are talking of the Cook Islands the Chinese built roads are breaking up and the government house they built is leaking . China want to get control of their vast seabed so they can mine it and we know how much China respects the environment
floating chernobyls they should all be dismantled, eat your own three eyed fish Mister Burns
Claiming that China is anywhere near as much a threat to NZ as the hostile US bases in Harewood, Tangimoana, Custom Street, Waihopai, and Fitzherbert Terrace is ridiculous.
It’d be cool if the Chinese took those out for us.
It’d be even better if you were standing at ground zero when they did it
Clearly the Cooks have had enough of the colonists exploiting them for the last 100 years .We might give them $20 million per year which is an insult but the Chinese will build a whole economy for them while we kiss U S arse and continue BACK ON TRACK TO NO WHERE .
Let’s save the $20m. It might buy a ferry.
might buy a life boat that we can put the COC in and let them float off into the distance .If their god loves them and their policy against the poor he will send a wind to blow then ashore .
If this CoC is still in power when Trumpleskin discovers our nuclear-free status, the policy will be “gone by lunchtime”, as the Nats have said in the past.
Read the last line of the article before you shout out and look silly.
If we are talking of the Cook Islands the Chinese built roads are breaking up and the government house they built is leaking . China want to get control of their vast seabed so they can mine it and we know how much China respects the environment
Stop with he double posting it makes you and Bob the first knob look silly. As for China, stop buying clothes, household goods and read the bottom of every product you buy. Sistema, Fisher and Pykel are no longer N.Z. made, New Zealand is an export industry and the Cooks have every right to bend to the highest bidder. You want N.Z. built roads in the Cooks, fuck you are deluded, we rid ourselves of the Ministry of Works well before you emigrated here!!!
The M O W still operated up till 1988 long after I came here .At one stage I worked for one of their suppliers. It was a victim of Prebble and his Labour Government that you want back into power..Get your facts right before yo look silly.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a play to get the US back in focus on the seabed mining bids.
Maybe if Winston asks nicely the Chinese might swap the cooks for two new ferries and the required port structures .
Ni hao, huānyíng láidào Art of the Deal. I think what we have here is the free market playing out complete with confidential strategic deal making, best price tendering and procurement, and diplomacy based on tino rangatiratanga and mutual respect. A win win for all parties (a big beautiful win, so beautiful, and all above board).
Hey maybe the Hoots could send his SAS to disarm the real threats around the world, the serial killer countries sniping children in the face, or those clown countries where governments refuse to cede power after their humiliating loss in free and fair elections.
So Hooten wants to send our last soldier to invade his home land .What a joke we sunk our last maned navy ship in samoa so how will this lone Cook island soldier get there .
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