In normal circumstances, the Cook Islands only attract attention from honeymooners, green activists and Kiwi diplomats. That is because the remote Pacific country has a security deal with New Zealand (and, by extension, western allies) — and stunning palm-lined beaches threatened by rising seas.
But we do not live in normal times; US President Donald Trump is smashing the postwar geopolitical order. And this week Mark Brown, the Cook Islands premier, embarked on an investment deal with China.
The New Zealand government loudly howled in horror, fearing retaliation from Trump. But the Cook Islanders seem undeterred. And these specks of land in the Pacific have become a potent symbol of how the geopolitical sands are shifting.
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