Foreign Digest: China, Russia, Iran

           Both Communist China and Russia have been more militarily aggressive recently.  China has begun a new assertive tactic in the disputed Spratly Islands by dredging a coral reef next to one of the islands it occupies in order to build a landing strip and a harbor.  The Chinese strategy is to intimidate the other claimants to the South China Sea islands: the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

            The Russian Federation has negotiated an agreement with the breakaway pro-Russian puppet government of Abkhazia, a region of Georgia to place Abkhazian military forces under Russian command.  The deal is the possible first step toward Russia’s annexation of Abkhazia.  A pro-Russian puppet government also rules the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.

           Meanwhile, Iran succeeded in dragging out its nuclear talks with the United States and the other Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, for another seven months.  The terrorist-sponsoring Iranian regime is developing a nuclear program that will enable it to produce a nuclear weapon.  The talks are intended to get the Islamic Republic to drop its nuclear weapons program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.  In the meantime, Iran’s frozen assets will continue to be returned to it.  Combined with the previous easing of economic sanctions that would be difficult to re-impose, the Iranian economy is recovering and there is less leverage on Iran to give up its nuclear weapons aspirations.