This month, the Cook Islands signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China, sparking tensions between the islands and New Zealand.
It has sparked renewed discussions about China's interest in the Pacific, and how New Zealand should respond, as the Asia-Pacific region remains a hotbed of diplomatic tension between the East and West.
Marco de Jong, a Pacific historian and lecturer at AUT, who has been doing a lot of research into AUKUS, joins Thomas this week to discuss what's happening in the region.
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