IN THE strategic contest under way in the Pacific, a familiar pattern has emerged. China signs an agreement with an island nation. America’s regional partners get spooked. The Cook Islands, a sparsely populated string of 15 islets, is the latest to set off alarm bells. Its prime minister, Mark Brown, was preparing to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” to “expand economic opportunities” with China as The Economist went to press. That has sparked a fight with New Zealand, the Cook Islands’ former colonist.
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