US–Cook Islands seabed minerals framework sparks debate over governance and regional oversight

Illustrative image related to US–Cook Islands seabed minerals framework sparks debate over governance and regional oversight.

A framework agreement signed on 04 August 2025 between the United States and the Cook Islands setting up a U.S.–Cook Islands Working Group on critical minerals has intensified debate over plans to develop seabed resources in the Pacific. While the agreement is described by officials as nonbinding cooperation, analysts and civil-society groups say the arrangement could nonetheless tilt decision-making and speed up efforts to exploit the ocean floor for cobalt, nickel, manganese and other sought-after minerals.

The new working group will focus on cooperation around critical minerals found on the deep ocean floor — minerals that are increasingly central to batteries, renewable energy technologies and defence supply chains. Supporters of such partnerships argue the work could help diversify global supply chains and create new revenue streams for small island economies that currently depend heavily on tourism, fisheries and foreign aid. The Cook Islands government has publicly stressed that it has put in place stringent regulatory safeguards for any potential mining activity.

Critics say those reassurances may not be enough once a major power is sitting at the table. Adam Wolfenden, deputy coordinator at the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANNG), warned the working group could become a vehicle for advancing U.S. strategic and industrial priorities. “The establishment of the U.S.–Cook Islands Working Group will be a vehicle for the U.S. to press for decisions in support of extracting the critical minerals they seek for military purposes,” he said, adding that the imbalance between the partners risks giving Washington greater leverage if disagreements arise over implementation.

Wolfenden and other campaigners also highlighted how the framework’s nonbinding status can obscure powerful incentives. He warned that language commonly used in investment and cooperation agreements — about predictable or stable regulatory environments — can create pressure points that favour investors and accelerate industrial development. “This framework, while being non-binding, creates the incentives and pressure points for moving ahead with deep-sea mining,” he said, echoing calls from groups such as the Te Ipukarea Society that the agreement appears to set the “how” rather than the “if” of deep-sea mining.

Environmental scientists and community advocates have repeatedly urged caution, noting that deep-ocean ecosystems are among the least studied on Earth and that harm from seabed mining could be long-lasting or irreversible. Wolfenden emphasised the wider stakes, saying potential impacts on fisheries, tourism, and the ocean’s climate-regulating functions could cross national boundaries and therefore require regional approaches to risk management.

This agreement comes against a background of growing global competition for critical minerals and a recent push by Cook Islands leaders to position the country at the forefront of seabed mining in the Pacific. Earlier reporting showed the Cook Islands moving from moratorium-era caution toward more active exploration and the development of regulatory frameworks. The new U.S. partnership marks the latest development in that trajectory and raises fresh questions about transparency, accountability and who ultimately benefits from any future seabed extraction.

How the U.S.–Cook Islands Working Group will be governed, and what safeguards will be put in place to ensure Cook Islands communities and the region at large retain meaningful oversight, remain key issues for observers. Campaigners are calling for clear public mechanisms for scrutiny and regional consultation before any steps are taken to open deep-sea mining at scale.