US to Help Halt Chinese Drug Trafficking in Pacific Nations

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Chinese and South Asian criminals have used the region as a transit point for drugs.

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell speaks during a news conference at the South Korean Presidential Office in Seoul on July 18, 2023. Kim Hong-ji/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The United States will help tackle illicit drug trafficking in the Pacific Islands, a region that has become a node for the drug trade from China to the United States, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Thursday.

Campbell made the announcement in Vanuatu at the formal launch of the U.S. embassy in Port Vila, which opened last month.