Cook Islands

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The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. While self-governing, the country is in free association with New Zealand. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean. The capital is Avarua, located on the island of Rarotonga. Since the start of the 21st century, the country has conducted its own independent foreign and defence policy, and also its own customs regulations. Like most members of the Pacific Islands Forum, the country has no armed forces, but the Cook Islands Police Service owns a Guardian Class Patrol Boat, CIPPB Te Kukupa II, provided by Australia, for policing its waters. In recent decades, the Cook Islands has adopted an increasingly assertive and distinct foreign policy, and a Cook Islander, Henry Puna, served as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum...

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