Among the 10 people arrested in Fiji last week in a major anti-drug operation was the son of a senior pro-China politician from Palau, who presides over his country’s Senate, OCCRP confirmed. Hokkons Baules told OCCRP on Tuesday that he learned from media reports that his son, Lagomarsino Baules, 38, had been arrested in Fiji. The arrests come amid heightened concern over booming drug trafficking through the Pacific and growing evidence that China’s government uses criminal networks as proxies to help build ties to local elites in the geopolitically contested region. Hokkons Baules is a vocal advocate for dropping Palau’s diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and moving closer to China. OCCRP and partners reported last year that Zhao is one of Australia’s highest-priority criminal targets.