Palau Is a Battleground for Influence Between China and the US. Crime Is on the Rise

The tiny island democracy of Palau in the Indo-Pacific has become the center of a geostrategic rivalry between the United States and Beijing. A Reuters investigation shows that the Chinese are leasing land near U.S. military installations and the country has become a center for gambling, drug smuggling and money laundering. Beijing denies accusations of trying to destabilize Palau.