Tag - cook-islands

 
 

COOK ISLANDS

Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown addresses the media in Bonn, Germany, in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025
Cook Islands in talks with China on deep-sea mining
The Cook Islands causes concern in New Zealand as it moves toward a possible collaboration with China on deep-sea mining.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024
U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle
The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags
With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
Pacific Island Forum Secretary General Henry Puna
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023
Pacific island nations to hold second summit with Biden next week
Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum said the region had gone from a period of neglect to one of strategic interest, competition and "manipulation."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
Cook Islands paradise isn't plain sailing for all
They span an area the size of western Europe, but the Cook Islands may seem like the ends of the Earth when viewed from Japan — an 11-hour flight away south to New Zealand, followed by a four-hour "local hop" to the capital, Avarua, on the main island of Rarotonga.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
A Pacific idyll where some go to escape, others to connect
A woman from western Japan, who calls herself "Amy," couldn't find paradise in Thailand, Cuba, Brazil or French Polynesia, so with the last of her $300 savings she bought a one-way ticket from Tahiti to Rarotonga. Then, claiming to be penniless, she walked from the airport to the police station and...

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