Why America’s New Partnership with the Cook Islands is a Win-Win: “Happy Te Maeva Nui!”—a cheerful phrase that echoed across the Cook Islands as the nation celebrated 60 years of independence with reed dances, float parades, and choir performances.
For a week, Kapa Rima dancers and the sound of long log drums filled the streets, offering a visceral reminder of the country’s historical journey.
The US Plays a Role in the Celebration
However, the celebration wasn’t merely a look back; it also charted a vision forward with the announcement of a new seabed mining partnership with the US.
On the sidelines of the festival, the US and the Cook Islands released a joint statement pledging bilateral cooperation on scientific research and seabed mining.
While no formal agreement has been signed, discussions on research and technology collaboration are underway. The announcement opens a new channel for economic engagements, and more critically, lays the groundwork for countering China’s expanding soft power in the region.
This newly formed partnership follows President Trump’s April executive order encouraging US companies to pursue subsea mining ventures abroad. Nauru, another Pacific Island country, has already made a similar move, signing a sponsorship agreement with the American firm The Metals Company (TMC) in June to enable exploration and commercial activities in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
The US-Cook Islands partnership is a win-win.
For the Cook Islands, a nation with fewer than 20,000 people and a median annual income of around $13,000, seabed mining could prove transformational. A 2019 study projected that the mineral mining industry could generate billions in revenue. However, until now, the country has lacked the necessary infrastructure and financial capacity to transition from exploration to commercial operations.
For Washington, the partnership presents a strategic opportunity to counter China.
Earlier this year, the Cook Islands signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Beijing. This agreement included a memorandum of understanding that allowed China to engage in critical mineral extraction within the islands’ exclusive economic zone.
A US partnership provides a rules-based alternative to China’s inroads. It also advances key American interests by strengthening supply chain resilience and reinforcing regional security.
Today, China holds a sizable monopoly on energy minerals. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to the world’s largest cobalt and copper reserves, Chinese firms control 72 percent of the mining sector. That includes the Tenke Fungurume Mine, which alone accounts for 12 percent of global cobalt production.
This dominance gives Beijing a leg up in battery and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as leverage in trade negotiations. When Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports, for example, China responded by restricting exports of key rare earth elements, cutting off supplies critical to US defense industries.
That is why the US-Cook Islands partnership matters.
Valuable Island Chain Resource
The Cook Islands sit atop a vast mineral reserve. Its exclusive economic zone spans 2 million square kilometers and contains an estimated 12 billion wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules. These nodules are rich in cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, niobium, zirconium, and other rare earth elements, several of which appear on the US Department of the Interior’s list of 50 “critical” minerals.
If sustained, this partnership could help reduce China’s chokehold on the global resource supply chain and close off another avenue China might exploit to project its power.
Beijing has increasingly leveraged economic arrangements in Pacific Island countries for covert military purposes. One example is the Luganville Wharf in Vanuatu, which was originally renovated to accommodate large cargo vessels but is now capable of docking Chinese warships.
Seabed mining is similarly prone to China’s military-civil fusion strategy.
China currently operates a state fleet of 64 research vessels, which have logged thousands of hours globally over the past four years. These ships have been observed near Alaska and within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Many of these vessels are suspected of “double-dipping”—mapping the seabed for potential submarine operations under the guise of research. Roughly 80 percent have some affiliation with the Chinese military.
If the Cook Islands were to deepen subsea research cooperation with China, it could pave the way for Chinese research vessels to operate in their waters. That would raise serious security concerns, particularly for neighboring U.S. allies like Australia and New Zealand.
This new partnership, however, offers the Cook Islands a clear alternative to turn away from China’s strategic orbit.
As Indo-Pacific security becomes increasingly dependent on influence in the Pacific Islands, Washington cannot afford to remain passive. The Cook Islands partnership is a necessary first step—but it must be followed by consistent, credible engagement.
About the Author: Allen Zhang
Allen Zhang is a Research Assistant in the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
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Jim
September 25, 2025 at 8:21 pm
Yes, this is all a good thing.
Seabed mining is in its infancy.
But there’s a lot of potential.
That needs to be checked out.
There maybe many minerals and possibly even hydrocarbons. Is there some speculation? There almost always is before you drill (oil industry), but the potential of the seabed can’t be overlooked.
The Cook Islands is a good place to start (further develop) the investigation into the feasibility of seabed mining.
It’s nice when both parties have an interest in a common goal.
I hope the United States and the Cook Islands continue to have a positive relationship over common goals.