Global Robbing | What country is the Cook Islands?

Today, 25 years ago, on July 25, 1997, China and Cook Islands established ambassador -level diplomatic relations. For this pocket island country with an area of ​​only 240 square kilometers in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean, few people know very much, and some people even regard them as only an archipelago. What kind of country is the Cook Islands? What are the different things?

As a small island country in the South Pacific, the Cook Islands can be called the "most lonely" country in the world. Its capital Awarua is more than 5,000 kilometers away from any mainland. The nearest neighboring country in the Cook Islands is more than 1,000 kilometers away.

Cook Islands scenery. Image China

The Cook Islands is also one of the countries with the highest land decentralization in the world. The so -called decentralization of land refers to the ratio of the area of ​​an exclusive economic zone of a country to the land area. The Cook Islands are composed of 15 islands. The land area is only 240 square kilometers, but the area of ​​the exclusive economic zone of the marine is as high as 1.96 million square kilometers, which is 8167 times its land area. The high degree of territory of the Cook Islands also means that its marine resources development potential is huge.

Because the name "Islands" is on the name, the Cook Islands sometimes mistakenly believe that it is just a "archipelago". In fact, the Cook Islands is a sovereign country, and its territorial scope is the Cook Islands.

The Cook Islands with a total population of only 18,000 have no troops and only more than 100 police officers. The Cook Islands still belong to the Commonwealth countries, and its defense and foreign affairs are responsible for New Zealand, but the latter must listen to the opinions of the former and obtain its consent. In 1992, Cook's diplomatic independence was recognized by the United Nations, but it has not become a member of the United Nations so far. At present, Cook Islands has established diplomatic relations with more than 50 countries including China, but has not built diplomatic relations with the United States.

The ancients of the Cook Islands went to the estuary of New Zealand, which has now become historical and cultural sites. Photo by Sun Bin

The official currencies of the Cook Islands include Cook Islands and New Zealand dollars. Its citizens have the status of New Zealand citizens and can freely enter and exit New Zealand. Because the Cook Islands are far from other mainland and island countries, they have basically not developed. They can maintain unusually pure sea water and pure natural beaches. They ranked first among the "Top Ten Best Tourism Countries" rated in "Lonely Planet" in 2022. Following the Nordic Nordic Norway, the island nation in Africa, Mauritius, and Belize in Central America.

Eattaki Island in the south of the Cook Islands was once called the world's most beautiful islands by Tony Waller, the founder of "Lonely Planet". The lagoon and foot island of Eitaki are also known as the "most beautiful lagoon" and "snorkeling holy place", respectively. Eatti Beach is one of the filming places for the American adventure documentary "Survival of the Wild".

Lama Island of Eitaki. Image China

The pillar industry of the Cook Islands is the tourism industry, and it has accounted for nearly 50%of GDP at the highest. Visitors are mainly from New Zealand, Australia, the European Union and other places. For the tourism industry, the Cook Islands are also fighting. The country stipulates that all buildings on the island must not be higher than the tallest coconut trees in the local area. There are no crowds and traffic lights on the island, and there are no fast food restaurants and the so -called "brand resort", which filter out all the impetuousness and anxiety of the world, becoming the "Xanadu" in the minds of tourists.

Reporter: Chen Xiaowei Responsible: Mang Jiochen

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