US to pursue seabed mining with Cook Islands after China pact
The US has entered talks with the Cook Islands to develop seabed mineral resources, just months after the South Pacific nation formalized cooperation pacts with China that included exploration for undersea deposits.
The arrangement, unveiled during the Cook Islands’ 60th anniversary of self-government, will include joint efforts to map the island nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which is “one of the most promising regions for deep-sea mineral deposits,” the US State Department said in a statement Tuesday.
In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order expediting American licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law to unleash what the administration called a “gold rush” to “counter China’s growing influence.”
Within days of Trump’s order, the US subsidiary of Canadian-registered The Metals Company filed the first application to mine the seabed in international waters under a 1980 law, boosting its share price and drawing international scrutiny.
China already dominates the critical minerals supply chain on land, and TMC is seeking to tap into the US president’s pursuit of China-free metals.
Seabed mining has long been discussed as a way of boosting supplies of metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese. But commercial production remains distant, with key technologies still unproven and facing environmental criticism.
Officials from the Cook Islands signed the memorandum with China in February as part of the two countries’ five-year strategic partnership.
The State Department said in its statement that the Cook Islands’ “vast maritime natural resources” would benefit from America’s “expertise in oceanic research and technology.”
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