Mark Brown, the prime minister of the Cook Islands, escaped a vote of no confidence in the parliament on Wednesday ( Feb 26 ) due to agreements he and the opposition had struck with China that strained relations with New Zealand.
The movements introduced by the Cook Islands United Party was defeated by members of parliament, who voted 13-9. Two people abstained from voting.
The opposition has ten votes while the government has 14 in the 24-seat elected parliament.
Opposition lawmaker Teariki Heather, who moved the movement to oust Brown’s case, said:” We want to have on our own two legs and make our own decisions, but there’s a huge’ but ‘ there.
Who has backed us in the history? Our relation with New Zealand.”
Brown visited Beijing this month to reach a strategic relationship with China spanning knowledge, the economy, system, fishing, crisis management and seabed mine.
Due to concerns about China’s expanding presence in the area and the possible risks to the nation’s national security, his dealings sounded the alarm in New Zealand, which has legal relations to him.