Hundreds of Cook Islanders staged protests in the capital Avarua and opposition leaders have filed a no confidence vote against Prime Minister Mark Brown after he signed a five-year “action plan” with China.
The pact commits the tiny island to cooperate with China in trade, investment and exploitation of “seabed minerals.” Critics as well as the government of New Zealand, the former colonial ruler of the self-governing Pacific country, complain that Brown’s deal was made with little transparency.