News that the United States and New Zealand will co-fund a strategic port in the Cook Islands is being labelled a gross act of colonialism and resource grabbing by Greenpeace Aotearoa, who say it’s part of the US agenda to start deep sea mining in the Pacific – despite huge resistance within the Cook Islands and across the Pacific.
The announcement, made at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders\u2019 Meeting (PIFLM) in Palau, will see the US contribute $50 million and NZ $10 million to build a new port at Tongareva atoll (Penrhyn), a former US military base. <\/p>\n\n
The US Deputy State Secretary Christopher Landau, who is also attending PIFLM has said the \u201cinvestment\u201d builds on the Critical Minerals Framework that the Cook Islands and US signed earlier this year.
Penrhyn Basin contains a large density of high grade polymetallic nodules, which would-be deep sea miners are pushing to exploit. The US research vessel Okeanos Explorer has just been exploring this basin over July and August.<\/p>\n\n
Juressa Lee, spokesperson for Greenpeace Aotearoa, says it\u2019s disappointing to see NZ is complicit in this US plan which is clearly part of its bid to expedite unilateral mining permits to mine in international waters , and establish a strategic position.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why a meeting of Pacific Leaders feels like an appropriate time and place to progress the United States\u2019 war machine, let alone the presence of the US itself. This meeting is for our leaders to assert sovereignty, honour what it means to be Pacific, and build regional consensus on matters that are uniquely ours, with our Pacific values at the centre.
\u201cThe Trump Administration isn\u2019t about supporting Pacific sovereignty \u2014 they\u2019ve been very clear about their priorities, and end game. A government that is pushing unilateral mining of the deep sea to fuel the US war machine has no comprehension of decision-making driven by our values and agreed by consensus.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe know deep sea mining will harm the ocean we all rely on and we know the minerals that would be dredged up are not going to any \u201cgreen transition\u201d, they will be war minerals that serve US interests.
\u201cWe have been watching the US government wage war across the globe for too long. I\u2019m confused why Winston Peters and Mark Brown think this is a moment to be proud of, considering the Pacific nuclear-free legacy. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe fought against US imperialism, and established the Treaty of Rarotonga declaring the region a nuclear-free zone. This treaty was an exercise of our cooperation, values and sovereignty \u2014 all of which the US dismisses by still refusing to ratify.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI am here in Palau observing leaders from across Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa demonstrate Pacific values and priorities around climate responsiveness and ocean health. Many of these nations, bar a few outliers, are calling for a pause on deep sea mining. But the US is here hijacking this space to force deep sea mining \u2014 for their own interests \u2014 onto us, risking our homes and livelihoods.
\u201cThey have no right, and our leaders must call out this overstep, and stand firm in their own authority, and put the Pacific first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace, alongside many allies, is campaigning to stop deep sea mining, an emerging industry where minerals from the deep seabed would be extracted using untested technology and putting deep sea life, and ocean health at risk.
Lee says New Zealand\u2019s involvement in the port at Tongareva reveals where the Luxon Government stands with regards to its own war minerals deal in negotiations with the US. If it goes ahead despite the overwhelming opposition from iwi, communities and experts, the NZ government would also be putting foreign interests ahead of the health of the people and the environment in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe Pacific is not a playground for the US. Deep sea mining, if allowed to go ahead, will put the ocean and Pacific Peoples way of life at risk. The movement against this new extractive industry is strong and growing. We\u2019ve won fights like this before, including winning a Nuclear-Free Pacific. It\u2019s time for leaders around the world to say no to deep sea mining\u201d, says Lee.<\/p>\n\t\t\t It\u2019s time for New Zealand to take a stand. Join our call on the New Zealand government to back a global moratorium on seabed mining.\n<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t News that the United States and New Zealand will co-fund a strategic port in the Cook Islands is being labelled a gross act of colonialism and resource grabbing by Greenpeace Aotearoa who say it’s part of the US agenda to start deep mining in the Pacific.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":74410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[109],"p4-page-type":[7],"class_list":["post-78596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-seabed-mining","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n