Russian missiles in the Baltic

In Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s first state-of-the-nation address, he stated that Russia will deploy new short-range Iskander missiles in the Baltic region near Poland. President Medvedev stated that the missiles would neutralize the planned missile defense system the United States will deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic. These missiles are to be deployed in between two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, Lithuania and Poland. While the US considers the missile shield to be a defense from “rogue” nations, President Medvedev sees it as an aggressive threat to Russia. In his address to the country, he also stated that Russia would electronically jam the missile shield, and will consider using the Russian Navy to help neutralize the shield. The announcement came the day after Barack Obama won the US Presidential election.

China urges Obama to oppose Taiwanese independence

The Chinese government is urging President-elect Barack Obama to oppose independence for Taiwan. Amidst this urging, the Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou held a brief, yet historic, meeting with a senior Chinese envoy in Taipei, which drew thousands of protesters to the streets, protesters that object to closer economic and trade ties with China. The urging comes a month after the Bush Administration announced a plan to sell more than $6 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, and amid a five-day visit to Taiwan by Chen Yunlin, the most senior Communist Chinese official to visit the island since 1949, when Taiwan became self-ruled. The Chinese government views Taiwan as a breakaway province which should be reunited with the mainland, even if it requires force.

South Africa holds ivory auction

South Africa held the world’s biggest legal sale of ivory in almost 20 years. The auction in the African country saw over 51 tons of elephant tusks sold to China and Japan, the only officially approved buyers for this sale. The government of South Africa has come under fire for this sale of ivory. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species will monitor the trade to make sure companies do not mix the legal shipments with illegally acquired ivory, and will not allow the two countries to export the ivory. The tusks were sold for $142 per kilogram. The trade of ivory was banned in the late 1980s due to poaching and its destructive effect on the elephant populations.