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China and the Cook Islands -- a self-governing territory in constitutional free association with New Zealand -- are set to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership during Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown's Beijing visit on Feb. 14, The Washington Post reported the same day. 

China, Cook Islands: Deal Will Expand Beijing's Influence in the Pacific Islands, Undercut New Zealand

United States

Philippines

The Philippines and New Zealand held the first round of negotiations in Manila for a visiting forces agreement enabling troop exchanges and joint military exercises in each other's territory, The Manila Times reported on Jan. 29.

Philippines, New Zealand: Manila, Wellington Likely To Sign Visiting Forces Pact

Social Issues

New Zealand suspended a parliamentary session after Maori members of the opposition staged a haka protest (a ceremonial dance and chant) to disrupt a vote to amend the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi that governs the rights of Indigenous Maori people, Reuters reported on Nov. 14.

New Zealand: Indigenous Treaty Bill Disrupted by Lawmakers' Haka Protest

Canada

Australia

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Science & Technology

Leaders of the AUKUS grouping (the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia) issued a joint statement on Sept. 18 revealing ongoing consultations with Canada, New Zealand and South Korea to collaborate on Pillar II of the agreement.

AUKUS: Joint Statement Hints at Expansion

Samoa

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Nauru

Palau

Papua New Guinea

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Vanuatu

The Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative, a $271 million initiative to establish four regional police training centers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Micronesia over five years, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 28.

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

Cyber

The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are considering adding New Zealand, South Korea, Canada and Japan to AUKUS Pillar II, Yonhap News Agency reported on April 10.

AUKUS: Grouping Considers Doubling in Size Along Pillar II

New Zealand's opposition Labour Party is pushing back against the new center-right government's interest in joining AUKUS Pillar II, Breaking News Network reported on Feb. 13.

New Zealand: Domestic Pushback Against AUKUS Growing

Australia and New Zealand's foreign and defense ministers met on Feb. 1, where they pledged to tighten their countries' defense and security relationship and discussed New Zealand joining AUKUS Pillar II, The Guardian reported Feb. 2.

New Zealand, Australia: Wellington Inches Toward AUKUS Pillar II

Assessments

Israel

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France

Ukraine

Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a flag during a ceremony on Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Resume, Ukraine Observes Third Post-Invasion Independence Day

South Africa

Malaysia

Germany

Switzerland

President Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in as member of parliament during the first sitting of the new South African parliament on June 14 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ramaphosa will be inaugurated to a second term in a ceremony scheduled to take place June 19 in Pretoria.

The Weekly Rundown: Ukraine's Peace Summit, South Africa's Inauguration

Columns

On Geopolitics

Indonesia

North Korea

Singapore

Vietnam

India

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

U.S.-China Relations

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

Venezuela

Egypt

Europe

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 14, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

The Weekly Rundown: Dueling U.S. and Chinese Diplomacy, a European Council Summit

Ecuador

Poland

Israeli army Merkava battle tanks deploy Oct. 13, 2023, with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. An invasion will greatly exacerbate the hardships caused by Israel's total siege of the strip, creating a humanitarian crisis that could cause Egypt to use force to ensure that Palestinian refugees do not enter Sinai.

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Ground Invasion, a Parliamentary Election in Poland

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marapeand, the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown, U.S. President Joe Biden and Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as part of the U.S.-PIF summit at the White House on Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Despite Washington's desire to strengthen ties with Pacific island nations, political constraints may leave a regional void that China is happy to fill.

Strategic Goals and Political Hurdles in the U.S. Play Tug-of-War Over the Pacific Islands

Snapshots

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation at the War Memorial Centre on Jan. 19, 2023, in Napier, New Zealand. 

No matter who takes power next, Wellington will likely maintain its ''independent foreign policy” and balanced approach to U.S.-China competition.

Ardern's Surprise Exit Is Unlikely to Change New Zealand's Middle-Ground Politics

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama attend a joint press conference in Fiji's capital of Suva on May 30, 2022.

Security

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

China in Transition

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

China, the U.S., and Australia will need to adapt their traditional engagement with the island nations to secure influence in the strategic maritime region.

The Pacific Islands Emerge as the Next Theater for Great Power Competition 

Brunei Darussalam

Thailand

A photo taken on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a video call with leaders from countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. 

Supply Chains

The narrow scope of the initiative will limit its effectiveness in achieving Washington’s goal of countering China’s regional rise.

The Stumbling Blocks of Biden's New Indo-Pacific Economic Bloc

Media

Podcasts

Why Australia, New Zealand and other nations' geopolitical relationships are changing in the Indo-Pacific region.

Baker's Dozen: Considering the Pacific Side of the Indo-Pacific Region

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) holds a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, China, on April 1, 2019.

Modernizing China’s Military

Wellington's balance between securing its periphery and maintaining trade ties with China could shift toward the former as Beijing’s military activities in the Pacific accelerate. 

New Threats Test New Zealand’s Approach to Chinese Encroachment

Myanmar

Anti-coup protesters wave red National League For Democracy (NLD) flags and raise three-finger salutes on Feb. 9, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. 

The unrest will raise the risk of a violent crackdown that would threaten the junta’s ability to legitimize its rule abroad.

Amid Mounting Protests, Myanmar’s Military Mulls Its Response

New Zealand is an island nation at the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean, lying around 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) across the Tasman Sea from the Australian island of Tasmania. Geologically, New Zealand is part of a distinct continent known as Zealandia that also includes the French territory New Caledonia. Geographically, however, it is grouped within the broader Oceanic subregion of Polynesia, which is an assortment of over 1,000 islands to the northeast of New Zealand that includes Tahiti, Samoa, Easter Island and Hawaii.     Travelling from Eastern Polynesia, New Zealand's original inhabitants, the Maori, arrived by boat around 800 years ago. In the 18th century, British colonists arrived as an after-effect of Australian settlement. Though it is comprised of over 600 islands, most of New Zealand's current inhabitants live on either the South Island or the North Island, with the North Island accounting three-quarters of the country's population.     New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, on the other hand, is 15 times the size of its landmasses. Agricultural products dominate New Zealand's exports, with the lion's share destined for Australia and broader Asia. Unlike neighboring Australia, New Zealand is unlikely to develop a significant mining or hydrocarbon sector to diversify its economy. In the maritime realm, New Zealand has an unrecognized claim to a wedge of Antarctica known as the Ross Dependency as well as a loose federation with the Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue.     Like Australia, New Zealand's main geographic challenge is to overcome both its remote location and its tiny population. New Zealand's strongly pro-trade policies and collective security agreement with Australia and the United States seek to ensure that sea lanes remain open and that New Zealand is safely under the umbrella of the dominant global maritime power's protection. At the same time, it must balance these security ties with its interests in maintaining access to growing markets in the Asia-Pacific such as China.

SITUATION REPORTS

China, Cook Islands: Deal Will Expand Beijing's Influence in the Pacific Islands, Undercut New Zealand

Philippines, New Zealand: Manila, Wellington Likely To Sign Visiting Forces Pact

New Zealand: Indigenous Treaty Bill Disrupted by Lawmakers' Haka Protest

AUKUS: Joint Statement Hints at Expansion

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

AUKUS: Grouping Considers Doubling in Size Along Pillar II

New Zealand: Domestic Pushback Against AUKUS Growing

New Zealand, Australia: Wellington Inches Toward AUKUS Pillar II

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