What independence really means for two tiny Pacific island states
- Self-governing Cook Islands and Niue have exchanged their freedom in political association with New Zealand for dominated status under the United States
As US President Joe Biden hosted leaders of the Pacific island states at the White House on Monday, CNN ran this little news item: “The US is formally establishing diplomatic relations with a pair of Pacific Island nations Monday, recognising the Cook Islands and Niue for the first time.”
The 770-word story raises all sorts of questions: Did the two island states fight for independence? Since both have long been constituent parts of “the Realm of New Zealand”, did Wellington agree with their new-found status or object to it? Was Wellington too intimidated by Uncle Sam to say anything in public? How does their newly independent status fit with the US militarisation of their region?
Has “the Realm of New Zealand” been dissolved or reduced? On these issues and more, I learn much from two erudite readers, Richard and John. All of the technical facts in the following are from both legal scholars, but the responsibility for the dubious or duplicitous interpretation is mine only.
This “Realm” model, incidentally, offers a pretty good example of political association; perhaps Taiwan and mainland China can learn something. Interestingly, Niue has long taken the stance of “one China” as understood in its conventional sense, rather than the revisionist “I say what I feel like about it” version of Washington.
Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push
Cook Islands (population: 17,000-plus) and Niue (population: 1,700-plus) are self-governing political entities, which are in “free association” with New Zealand. Their people are citizens of New Zealand where most of them actually live.
Now never trust Wikipedia; one entry says while “self-governing”, New Zealand ran their defence and foreign affairs. That’s not quite right.
Let me quote from John (Don’t sue me, please!). Over the years, Wellington has recognised “the gradual evolution of the relationship between the two countries as two sovereign states in free association” with New Zealand, while the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration declared that “in the conduct of its foreign affairs, the Cook Islands interacts with the international community as a sovereign and independent state”.
Unless someone attacked the tiny islands, in which case New Zealand would have to defend them, they ran their own affairs, both foreign and domestic. Both are democratic, with Niue being perhaps overly so. It has a Legislative Assembly of 20 members – of whom 14 are elected by each of the island’s 14 villages – for a population of 1,700-plus. It sounds pretty good, that Realm of New Zealand, so why change? Will formal independence benefit the islands? It seems the US is the real winner.
Before independence, both island territories had always been much freer than the notionally sovereign states of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. The latter are “freely associated states” of the US, which runs their defence and, to a large extent, foreign affairs as well.
US throws weight behind new Pacific undersea cable to fend off China influence
The island nations represented at the White House summit included: Nauru, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Samoa, and Tonga.
They are all being integrated into what Washington calls a “Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative” to counter foreign, read Chinese, influence. Domain? By forming a new sphere of US influence?
As independent nations, the Cook Islands and Niue will get two votes as good as those of China and Russia, for example, at the United Nations. You can guess how they will vote. Under US pressure, both will probably join the four remaining diplomatic allies of Taiwan in the Pacific, bringing the number to six. Will they be asked to “host” US military assets?
It looks like the two island states have exchanged their very real freedom under New Zealand for formal but dominated “independence” under the US imperium.
