In a statement, TIS says that the growing presence of US-based investors and the US Government in deep-seabed minerals requires ‘greater transparency and public scrutiny in the Cook Islands’.

Te Ipukarea Society’s comments follow the new Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) report, Undermining Sovereignty: De-Risking the Pacific from Investor-State Disputes in Deep-Sea Mining that was authored by Professor Emeritus Dr Jane Kelsey, a specialist in international economic law and policy.

Sieni Tiraa-Ivaiti, environmental campaign manager for TIS says the report warns that deep-seabed mining could expose Pacific governments to costly and secretive claims through Investor-State Dispute Settlement, or ISDS.

ISDS can allow foreign investors to challenge decisions affecting their investments, including stronger environmental protections, refused approvals, or a change of direction when an activity is no longer in the national interest.

For the Cook Islands, this is becoming more urgent. US-linked companies are connected to exploration licence holders, while related applications are being pursued under US seabed-mining law, Tiraa-Ivaiti said.

US ambassador

TIS states that the Cook Islands Investment Corporation’s (CIIC) new partnership with New York-headquartered Wetstone, which will hold 49 per cent of Cobalt Seabed Resources Limited, means all three Cook Islands EEZ exploration licence holders are now connected to American investors.

The Cook Islands also entered a Critical Minerals Framework Agreement with the United States in February 2026.”

American company Odyssey Marine holds a significant stake in Moana Minerals, one of the three exploration license holders in the Cook Islands.

Given Odyssey’s recent history of suing the Mexican government under ISDS provisions when environmental permits were denied, United States ambassador to the Cook Islands Jared Novelly in an interview with Cook Islands News was asked whether the US government would ensure the laws of the Cook Islands is respected if the country ‘denies seabed mining permits’ to the American companies.

Novelly, says, “I think if you look at our history, our appreciation and understanding of the rule of law is important to us.”

“In terms of the U.S. violating any Cook Islands laws, that’s simply not what we’re here to do. We don’t do that. In terms of U.S. companies, my role as the ambassador is not to impose laws on U.S. companies.”

“I certainly have the capability of influencing them, and certainly have the capability of working with my counterparts here, finding out if any violations exist, and I can pass that through the U.S. judicial system if it applies.

“My role is not in picking winners on those. My role is in providing information to the Cook Islands in terms of, obviously, we want to promote U.S. business interests, but not one company over another, and not U.S. business interests over Cook Islands’ sovereign loss. That is not our role.”

PM Brown

Prime Minister Mark Brown told PMN News that his government would stick to science and caution on seabed mining.

Brown has reiterated that the Cook Islands has a strong regulatory system and will not move from exploration and research to extraction until it has the answers it needs.

This week, PM Brown, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced the Penrhyn port $101million project.

US Deputy Secretary Landau said the project demonstrated the US’s strong commitment to Pacific partners and builds on the Critical Minerals Framework signed with the Cook Islands earlier this year.

Tiraa-Ivaiti said, “The Cook Islands people need to understand what these changing company structures, foreign-government arrangements and legal commitments could mean for our country,” She said this was not about opposing relationships with the US or any other country.

“It is about ensuring that foreign commercial and strategic interests do not weaken our ability to protect our ocean, regulate responsibly, or act in the interests of our people.”

Report

TIS states that Professor Kelsey’s report identifies five possible pathways to investor claims across the Pacific.

Four require particular attention in the Cook Islands:

·         State-investor contracts: Confidential contracts may contain investor protections and arbitration clauses. Without publication, the public cannot know what rights or liabilities have been accepted.

·         Sponsorship agreements: Cook Islands sponsorship under the International Seabed Authority may create enforceable obligations alongside international and domestic law.

·         Domestic legislation: The Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Act 2019 provides for arbitration of certain disputes with sponsored parties and limits the scope of review by domestic courts.

·         US-issued permits: US-authorised activities may intersect with Cook Islands licences, sponsorship arrangements and the international system under UNCLOS and the International Seabed Authority.

“The fifth pathway, bilateral investment treaties, does not currently apply for the Cook Islands, and hopefully never will. However, this report reinforces the need to monitor closely all developments that have an international dimension.

“Together, these pathways can produce a chilling effect. The cost or threat of a dispute may pressure a government to delay stronger safeguards, avoid regulatory action, settle privately, or continue with an arrangement it would otherwise reconsider.”

TIS claims that without access to contracts, licences and associated legal instruments, Cook Islanders cannot properly assess what rights have been granted, what obligations government has accepted, or what financial exposure our country may carry.

Te Ipukarea Society seeks to work constructively with government while promoting transparent, accountable and informed decision-making.

“We are asking relevant authorities how major changes affecting licence holders are being reviewed and how the public interest will be protected.

“We are grateful for this ISDS report because it helps unpack technical and legal issues that often go over our heads but may have serious consequences for our country,” said Tiraa-Ivaiti.

“We need more independent initiatives like this to recognise risks early, keep our finger on the pulse, and protect our sovereign right to act for our people and ocean.”

A full copy of the report: Undermining Sovereignty: De-Risking the Pacific from Investor-State Disputes in Deep-Sea Mining can be accessed on thePacific Network on Globalisation website.