Dear Editor: The Prime Minister Mark Brown has a history of accusing the media of hyperbole.

A recent example being Mark complaining about a piece the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) did regarding the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement between China and the Cook Islands.

There were no overstatements by the (ABC) rather it was Mark on his soapbox putting forth propaganda to try and shape beliefs that are not based on actual facts.

But what struck me most was a couple of statements made by Mark and New Zealand officials that were very alarming.

PM Brown said, “I’ve been very clear that within the agreement there are no arrangements for security that they were fearful of that might be contained in the agreement".

But a spokesperson for Winston Peters added "that it was clear based on publicly available texts that the agreements signed by China and the Cook Islands had a range of security elements and implications."

The NZ Government is not buying what Mark is trying to sell. And why would they? There are many examples in the agreement that will offer clear opportunities to China, which will be able to use commercial actors to establish a strategic military presence in the Cook Islands.

Namely, in Article 3 of the agreement it states that "the parties will encourage businesses to conduct investment cooperation in marine engineering technology".

Hydrography and Geospatial research is marine engineering technology, which has direct military applications, it plays a crucial role in modern military operations, including real-time strategy awareness and intelligence gathering. This is just one example of military-supported resource exploitation; the Cook Islands Government is in way over its head.

PM Brown also said, “We very much rely on our traditional security arrangements that are in place with our traditional partners of NZ and Australia". But the agreement Brown signed can hurt our traditional security arrangements, empowering China an opening to exert military influence, this lapse in defence exposes the Cook Islands to potential danger and in essence has invited the enemy into the camp.

Steve Boggs

Response from Office of the Prime Minister (OPM): The PM hadn’t actually “complained about a piece the ABC did”, we (OPM) had shared with CI News our response to the recent article from ABC… that was a position from OPM rather than the PM – but the full interview by ABC is also available online.

.