Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

The US is not only a source of illegal firearms trafficking but also a root cause of social security deterioration in Caribbean countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry said after Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) agreed that the US government should take effective measures to prevent the flow of firearms from the US into the Caribbean region. 

At the recent CANSEC held in Trinidad and Tobago, the leaders from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) reached a consensus on implementing a ban on assault weapons in their respective countries to reduce gun violence and weapons smuggling in the region. The participants said the US government should take effective measures to prevent the flow of firearms from the US into the Caribbean region. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a press briefing on Tuesday that he had noticed the relevant reports. 

According to Wang, leaders from multiple countries said during the CANSEC that the accessibility of high-performance military weapons has contributed to the rise of gang violence in the region. These weapons are primarily smuggled from the US, which clearly indicates that the issue of firearm violence in the US is not only a persistent “epidemic” within the US but has also spread and become a “contagious disease” destabilizing the social security of neighboring nations. 

As the country with the highest number of privately owned firearms and civilian guns per capita, the US has experienced frequent mass shootings with devastating casualties, which is shocking and alarming, Wang said, noting the chaotic and ineffective firearm regulation in the US has not only inflicted great harm on its own citizens but also posed a significant security threat to the Caribbean region. 

Wang said that according to data from Interpol, over 70 percent of murders in the Caribbean region involve the use of firearms, and based on statistics released by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), approximately 80 percent of the firearms involved in criminal activities in the entire Caribbean region originate from the US. Official data from the Bahamas indicates that over 90 percent of confiscated firearms in that country can be traced back to the US. 

The aforementioned facts clearly indicate that the US is both a “source” of illegal firearms trafficking and a “root cause” of worsening social security in Caribbean countries, Wang pointed out.

The US has consistently attributed the domestic drug proliferation to other countries, yet it turns a blind eye to the illegal flow of US firearms into neighboring nations and the turmoil it causes. This is another vivid example of American double standards, Wang noted. 

We urge the US to face the chronic problem of firearms proliferation within its own borders, take real responsibility, and take effective measures to curb the illegal export of US firearms from the source, Wang said, adding that the US should not shy away from addressing this issue and should refrain from harming others.

Global Times