Fujimori to join anti-drug coalition after Rubio's visit

Peru's President, Keiko Fujimori, has held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She expressed her intention to enhance Peru's relations with the United States, officially announcing her country's participation in a US-led multilateral anti-drug coalition.

Fujimori, who took office in July, met with Rubio in Peru's capital Lima on Thursday.

At a joint news conference after the talks, she announced her country will become part of the "Shield of the Americas," a multilateral coalition led by the administration of US President Donald Trump that carries out joint anti-drug operations and other efforts with Central and South American countries.

She also indicated her intention to work with the US in responding to disasters such as heavy rainfall, whose risks have been heightened by the El Nino phenomenon, through the planned deployment of a US Navy hospital vessel.

Rubio said, "I truly believe that we are entering a new era in US-Peru relations, a golden era in many ways, because her administration has the right ideas." He also said there is much more for them to do together.

Peru has been increasingly showing its stance to move closer to the US since Fujimori took office. Peru has announced it decided to sever diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing it of inciting violence and escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

The question now is how this shift in Peru's stance will affect its relations with China, its largest trading partner.