Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the government saw no need to give China a heads-up over its decision to halt funding for the Cook Islands.
Addressing reporters in Shanghai, Luxon made the comments hours after confirmation New Zealand had paused $18.2 million of development assistance to the island nation over its deal with China earlier this year.
Earlier on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the Cook Islands had failed to give satisfactory answers to New Zealand's questions about the agreement.
The Cook Islands operates in free association with New Zealand, and while it governs its own affairs, a 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration requires both nations to consult each other on defence and security.
Speaking from China, Luxon echoed Peters' remarks.
"We were unhappy and dissatisfied with the fact that the Cook Islands government wasn't open and transparent about its international agreements."
The timing of the revelation could scarcely be worse for Luxon, coming on the eve of his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.
But Luxon repeatedly downplayed China's role in the dispute, saying it lay squarely with the Cook Islands government.
"Our issue is really with the Cook Islands. It's between Cook Islands and New Zealand."
He said, as such, China was not alerted to the decision in advance.
Asked if he expected the issue to be raised in the Xi meeting, Luxon said he never previewed topics of conversation in advance.
But he noted that Foreign Minister Winston Peters raised the Cook Islands deal in his bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart earlier this year.
Luxon said New Zealand's officials were working with those in the Cook Islands to put "mitigations and risk management" in place for any areas of concern.
"We want to be reassured that those actual risks are going to be well managed around our defence, around our security, around our international borders, given the integration of our systems."
Luxon also stressed that the quarrel was not with the Cook Islands people who are New Zealand citizens.
"We're very, very proud of our Cook Islands and the contribution they've made to New Zealand and our issue is not with them."
Peters informed the Cook Islands government of the funding pause decision in early June.
However, it only became public on Thursday after media reports in the Cook Islands.
Asked why the government did not proactively announce the decision when it was made, Luxon would only say that there were "ongoing conversations".
He said his message to China was very consistent: "we expect any party, any major power, any other country that's outside the Pacific family, to respect actually the centrality of the Pacific Island Forum."
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