Hirosaki Conference on International Maritime Security [ATTN: All interested parties]

[Touzen]

This conference is open. You are free to write yourself in as attending if your government has an interest in participating.

"Welcome to Hirosaki."

Minister of Revolutionary Defense and Foreign Affairs Arakaki had risen from his chair inside the conference room, rising his voice to get the attention of the assembled delegates from various countries.

"We have gathered here today to discuss the possibility of an international accord on international maritime security. The recent sinking of Yujin and Kyvan vessels has, in a dramatic fashion, highlighted the need for the international community to find a common framework for maritime security and coordinate actions against lawlessness on the seas. It is my hope that when we emerge from this conference, the international seas will have become a more secure place for international travel and commerce."

The man paused. Behind him, clearly visible through the large window front behind him, the Sea of Touzen could be seen, and somewhere beyond, out of sight, one would eventually find the Touyou mainland in form of the Seoran peninsula. Hirosaki was an old town with a long naval tradition, so it had been only fitting to pick it for the subject at hand. It also meant that a potential second summit of the Himyar Group that was being discussed with Carentania, could be held in Touzen, without the city already having been "taken" by the earlier, and perhaps less prestigious, conference on maritime security. Yet it was an important conference, the Foreign Minister mused. After all, trade is what kept the world going. And for some, it was what kept the wars going, he grimly noted to himself.

"One of the premier issues we will have to discuss today is the future security situation in the Long Sea. Right now, we are faced with a volatile situation, although the Workers' Republic of Carentania has done much to stabilize the situation there. Yet, rogue maritime elements of the Solaren theocracy still roam the seas, and piracy could become a growing concern in upcoming months. A factor of rising concern is also the increased diplomatic tension in the region between several states bordering the Long Sea. Any potential future conflict between states in the Long Sea would not only affect the warring nations, but would also have rather severe repercussions for all other nations trading through this naval body. I do not have to tell you that this means the majority of the world's nations."

"I have several ideas on how to address this issue, but I would first like to give the esteemed delegates the opportunity to give their opening statements and outline their government's positions on the future of maritime security across the globe."

 

[Breotonia]

True to Breotish sensibilities the leader of the delegation Lunden had sent to Hirosaki Conference was not a diplomat from the Foreign Office but instead Terrence Hood, Admiral of the Fleet and Chief of the Defense Staff. He was, of course, accompanied by an array of Foreign Office personnel and lesser officers of the Royal Navy. He was sure there was one or two Office of Naval Intelligence spooks planted in his delegation but not even he would know who. The issue at hand was likely important to nobody more than Breotonia and it was Hood's most fervent wish that the proceedings ended with an actionable agreement. The Foreign Office might be satisfied with broad and toothless resolutions that condemned an act and then made ridiculous promises to "foster international cooperation" or some equally useless diplomatic garbage. He was a military man and he would endeavor to shape an agreement that would have results.

"Thank you Minister Arakaki, I am happy to see Touzen is taking an active role in this most serious issue." He began to address the room as a whole. "I am sure that it is not necessary to remind the Honorable Delegates present that Breotonia has an immense interest in seeing this resolved. The Mantle, which has shaped and guided our foreign and military policy for half a millennium, mandates that we do everything in our power to ensure the inviolability of the right to commerce and movement on the high seas. To that end we have continuously fielded the largest and most advanced naval force in the world. With it we have, in the most determined fashion, maintained the rights of all ships flying under all flags to traverse the seas without interference. We have spent Breotish coin and Breotish blood in the pursuit of this goal and when we fail, as we did with the loss of the Tien Hau it weighs heavily upon everyone in the Admiralty."

"Breotonia has always jealousy guarded our right to police the seas in this manner without interference or assistance." Hood closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, as if bracing for an impact. "I must admit now that we no longer believe it is possible to successfully execute the edicts of the Mantle without cooperating alongside other like minded nations." Anybody with even passing understanding of the Mantle and Breotish sensibilities in regard to the issue would understand that Hood had just made a profound statement that effectively went against a centuries long held belief that Breotonia alone would rule the seas. To Hood it was like jettisoning a piece of religious doctrine which had guided him for his entire life. It was a difficult moment.

"Accepting this necessity I feel that the proper course of action in this conference is to create a an agreement that will result in multinational effort to actively enforce the freedom of the seas by force when necessary. I hope that my wish for this outcome is one shared by the rest of you."

 

[Frescania]

He was never the type that liked Conference like this one, but the President had asked him to represent Frescania, and he could not refuse him. Julio Marquez, the former Admiral of the Republican Navy, had flew from Fortaleza Real with a delegation from both Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

The situation in the Long Sea was not new to him, after all, piracy had always been there. However, the attention payed to it by the governments, including his own, had been minimal. Indeed, his appointment as representative for Frescania came only weeks after the government had decided that piracy was problem it had to be dealt with.

"Good afternoon,

I would like to first thank Minister Arakaki and Touzen for putting together this conference. It is not only Frescania's, but also my own belief, that this issue had not been addressed before with the attention it needed. The Republic is glad we are gather here to finally put together an agreement.

As some of you might know, the President has ordered the Republican Navy to begin preparing a Long Sea Flotilla that will enforce the rule of law and any agreement we agree here. However, until this conference is finished, Frescania will continue its current policy of overseeing our domestic waters, and the bordering international waters, including the strait between the Great and Long Seas.

Frescania hopes that united, we can solve this issue."

 

[Danmark]

The threat of expansionism by jostling regimes that seemed to have arrogated to themselves rights of entitlement in creating their own hegemonies over the Long Sea and so inflate their national egos at the expense of other countries' interests, or so it was commonly believed by many Danes, had begun to involve a great deal of resources and attention. Even though there had been no threat to Danish interests - yet - Christiansborg had begun to take precautionary measures of its own in unison with it's close partners, Eiffelland, by beefing up it's own naval and air presence in the area and the increasing will was that if pressures increased and the interests of its own people and economy and that of southern Germania were threatened, it was very minded to fully use them in an aim of providing a muscular deterrent. Not that it really wanted to reach this situation. It much preferred jaw rather than war.

With this guiding doctrine of foreign relations fully in mind, the Danish Udenrigsminister, Henrik Westerveld, accompanied by the Forsvarsminister Dr Georg Schnéevoigt, arrived in Hirosaki in the distant realm of Touzen to engage in the art of grand statecraft, an opportunity he revelled in.

Westerveld, although rather jaded through frenetic activity of late throughout Germania and increasingly feeling as if his responsibilities were aging him prematurely, looking at the other representatives gathered he felt rather relieved. Despite feeling jet-lagged and having had little sleep, he still looked a veritable spring chicken - younger and fresher of face - compared to most of the other international figures gathered here in Hirosaki.

Rather revived after inbibing excellent Touzen refreshments whilst the Frescanian spoke, he arose to make his own brief opening statement: "We thank Mr Arakaki for this initiative to address this issue, an increasingly important issue to all maritime states. To me, it is ironic and speaks volumes when it takes a nation such as yours to seek to bring people of different persuasions together even though you are thousands of miles away from the Long Sea, in any case, and those closer to home have not been able or inclined to resolve this issue when they are more directly affected. The time has come to for us to talk and iron out our issues and come to a lasting and complete consensus so that peace may prevail. My colleague, the Danish Defence Minister, and I have brought our own initiatives and ideas on how to resolve this grinding problem and we are hopeful we can all work together in a consonant spirit. We are prepared to play a full part in these negotiations and we hope that all representatives at this conference feel similarly inclined".

 

[Khemia]

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Zhengcai could not help himself but to feel disgusted and nauseated by the presence of the slime that were the Touzen. He couldn't hold back the feeling, and he didn't know whether it was their fiendishly hooked noses, their rat-like pointed faces, or their ghost-like skin. The absolute lack of anything Zhengcai empathized in Touzen society with was also disconcerting for him, and he refused every drink or fingerfood offered to him. Who knew which item these thieves and assassins would poison to strike a blow at his nation. He had to be vigilant. Everyone in this room was a potential foe, he thought to himself, casting suspicion over them all. Some in the Ministry thought Mr. Sun was paranoid - but that did not mean that none of these rats was plotting the demise of his nation.

He, of course, knew why he was here. It was the tragic loss of the MV Tien Hau, and the threat that the conflict in the Long Sea presented to international trade, that had established the grounds for this conference. That put Yujin in some sort of position to make demands - but he couldn't help but feel even more scorn and embitterment for the nation which he felt was somehow responsible through complacency, if not outright conspiracy, for the attack against his countrymen. Carentania was a threat to international stability; he saw what the others could not see. The Revolutionary Defense Treaty Organization was trying to establish hegemony over the Long Sea. They were establishing their pawns everywhere, from Coronado and Carentania proper, to Jurzan and now Solaren. Only a naive fool would believe anything other than that Carentania had established the SNC itself to put itself into a position of paramount influence.

"The Republic of Yujin shares it's concerns with the Constitutional State," Zhengcai seemed to almost growl through his teeth as he uttered the words, "and we recognize that nations which are integral to international markets might not always have the capacity to defend their economic interests abroad. Take the nation-state of Wiese for example. Without a navy, or access to the sea, Wiese is almost incapable of defending her overseas assets. We live in a world of uncertainty, and it is time that the community comes together to bring reassurances to those nations who can not afford to protect their assets, and to guarantee the permanent security of vital trade regions, like the Long Sea. With these thoughts in mind, I am eager to listen to the proposals put forward by the delegate of the Constitutional State of Touzen, Mr. Akaki."

 

[Wieserreich]

Georg Takeshi Junichiro, a Wieser Oikawan and Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Wieser Empire to Oikawa [Touzen], had recently received orders to undertake the landlocked empire's representation in the Hirosaki Conference. He was in his forties, having gladly taken up the mantle of representing the Empire in the country his people descended from several years ago. Although Wiese lacked a coastline, it did not lack a merchant marine and maritime interests - apart from Wiese-flagged vessels in the oceans and Germanian rivers, there were several foreign based companies cooperating with Wieser firms for shipping. The Emperor's Ports in Franken and Eiffelland still existed.

Appearing in proper diplomatic uniform, the Wieser Oikawan addressed the other nations' representatives.

"Good afternoon.

"I would like to thank our gracious hosts on behalf of His Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Majesty's Council of Ministers for putting together this conference. The Reich might be lacking direct access to the Seven Seas, however this does not mean we lack maritime interests, and the present subject is most interesting and important to Augsburg and the Wieser people.

"The recent, deplorable use of the oceans for warfare, which has caused the dramatic loss of commercial ships and resulted in an undeniable act of war against Wiese in the form of the most despicable government terrorist attack on Augsburg has greatly enhanced our interest in the subject of maritime security. It is our hope that this conference can bear firm and important results that can protect the commercial and security interests of all, including powers that lack projection capabilities.

"As such, Wieserreich is most prepared to play an active role in the negotiations and execution of agreements, however its position allows it."

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Chancellor Valdez only had a few more days in office. An almost universally respected diplomat, Valdez had been seen in his last days as a special envoy to the conference. Nicosia had to show that she would take the situation seriously. Over the years, he had built relationships with several men in the room. Now, these relationships would come to a close.

"Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin by pointing out that Nicosia is still investigating the the Tien Hau sinking and is doing everything in its power to put an end to any remaining elements of the Solaris Navy. Nicosia is planning to increase marine and air patrols to ensure that the Long Sea remains safe. Nicosia will also be acquiring 4 new patrol vessels and will acquire 2 new corvettes in the next 3 years.

The Straits of Nicosia is the single most heavily traveled sea lane in terms of tonnage in the world. As a result, my government has recently sent a pre-proposal to Frescania for a cooperative effort. Rest assured that Nicosia views it as a personal responsibility to ensure that the Long Sea remains safe. In addition, may I add that Nicosia has serious vested interest in the Long Sea. Nicosia is an important transit point for many container ships and does operate one of the most busy ports. In addition to this, Nicosia also heavily relies on the tourism industry. Before the conflict, Nicosia was the number 1 destination for many cruise lines in the Long Sea. No tourist wishes to visit a paradise surrounded by pirates.

I just wish this assembly know that Nicosia is working to resole this issue".

 

[Jydsken-Østveg]

Ms. Annika Udén Johansson was sent on behalf of Prime Minister Hjalmer-Lindeskog to the Hirosaki Conference. She was a member of the Environmental Green party and was well trusted by the Prime Minister. It seemed slightly odd, but the foreign minister wasn't interested in attending the conference. Perhaps due to the nature of the conference and the absence of other foreign ministers. Frida was new to this sort of conference though. She wasn't uneducated, but certainly ill-prepared and unsure with how to move forward. Her only preparation based upon what she had talked to the Prime Minister about, she took a seat without speaking to anyone beyond obvious introductory pleasantries with the Touzen representative.

 

[Großlausitz]

As it befitted Franken's status as a respectable naval power - maybe not the leading naval power - it was duly represented by Foreign Minister Graf Robert Beaumont von Miltenberg, who was accompanied by a flock of political, economic and security advisers. Due to heavy snowfall in Franken, which forced the government aircraft to stay on ground, they had arrived late at the conference. As the conference followed international protocol of placing attendants in alphabetical order, Graf Miltenberg wasn't seated too far away from his Danish colleague, who he greeted with a friendly nod. "The Kingdom of Franken is delighted to hear that many a government aware of its duty towards the unbarred and free flow of commerce. What we hope this conference will achieve is a standardised set of rules ensuring neutrals and/or civilian traffic will never be caught in a nasty stand-off between two naval powers or at least harmed as little as possible."

 

[Rheinbund]

The Eiffellandian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor Rudolph Kögler represented Eiffelland. He had borrowed several officials from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry for Defence and the Ministry for Justice to advice him together with some of his own officials. What usually never happened, happened this time: The Government Plane had technical problems. Due to that, Kögler and his people had suffered a delay as well. But now he had arrived.

Because the D precedes the E and the E precedes the F in the Alphabet, Kögler was seated between his Danish and his Franconian colleague. Oh coincidence, he thought. He took the microphone and said: "Ladies, gentlemen, also we see the need of an agreement or treaty that covers free passage of neutral and civilian vessels as much as possible. Nobody will benefit if a naval war disrupts trade and civilian sea traffic. Furthermore, we need to agree on a certain set of rules ensuring safety."

 

[Taley]

Her Excellency, Secretary of Commerce Ottavia Questi took her place next to the Cantignians. Ottavia was here to represent the views of the Talemantine Empire in the matter of the Seas. Talemantros was certainly one of the more patriarchal of societies on the globe with women still unofficially treated as second class citizens, but that didn't mean that women could not rise above in Talemantine society. While most women were subordinate to men they still held significant power through other means. Under Waylon X, women rights have improved with women participating in all segments of society, except two; government and military. Government and the military remained a gentleman's club, even in the electable sphere women still weren't able to completely break through the glass ceiling. Ottavia was one of the examples of women in Talemantine politics, one of the few. Of the Talemantine government there were only Ottavia, Aurelia Dal Pane, Vincenza Vitagliano, and Senator Auralia Sciorra, the sole four women in power in the Talemantine state. Certainly places like Europaland, would take disgust at this fact, but Ottavia took pride. Through her work she was able to climb to the seats of the Consistory and represent Talemantros around the world.

Now Secretary Questi was here about the growing concern to Talemantine business. The growing connection between Talemantros and Galla meant that they would have to deal with the continuously dangerous shipping in the Long Sea forcing Talemantine businesses to face higher costs in hiring security for the transit. Even De Vesci Industries had begun requesting naval protection of some of its tankers in the area. However, in this endeavor Ottavia was not alone, next to her was Vice Admiral Jutta Vasilini, the victorious commander of the TIS Theodora II during the Altaic war and fresh from coming home. Jutta was the highest ranking woman in the Talemantine military and there were some rumors of a promotion following the war. In the room of men the Talemantine women were prepared to get secure waters for Talemantine shipping.

"The two incidents on different seas and on opposite sides of the globe prove that this issue is no longer a regional affairs. Before it was left to the regional actors to police their local waters and nothing else. Talemantine commerce is becoming increasingly dependent on shipping through waters that are also increasingly becoming more and more treacherous forcing exceeding costs upon our commerce. This issue is making it harder and harder for companies and states to do business with one another and if nothing is done international commerce will be nothing more than regional trade with no one daring to traverse the seas."

 

[Havenshire]

Admiral of the People's Navy John Hawking was sent to represent Havenshire at this important Conference. He felt distinctly uncomfortable amongst so many civillian and political representatives, and was aware of the difficult task ahead of him. He had spent many years as a submariner, and had been chosen to deliberately counter the conspicuous presence of Breotonia's own Admiral. Apparently, Hawking's controversial theses on the applications of submarine warfare in a global context had been leaked some time ago as a propaganda move, and Breotonia had very carefully not reacted to this document, which laid out some of the ways in which a large submarine flotilla, tactically positioned globally, could greatly destroy a country's trade balance, given the right conditions.

He adjusted his tight-fitting, sparkling white dress uniform carefully- As a hands-on man, he preferred to wear loose shirts and jeans, and spent most of his time on board his flagship submarine, the PNS Sword of Justice.
He sat and listened carefully as all the other representatives expressed their views, and went through the dance of politics. He was acutely aware that whatever was decided here about the Long Sea, would probably effect negatively his country and alliance's interests, and would also probably greatly hinder any long-term strategic goals they might have that they hadn't told him about.

Finally, it was his turn to speak.

"As representative of the People's Navy of the People's Republic of Havenshire, we believe strongly that the commerce of nations is the perogative of the people, and not of national governments. As such, we have long authorised our co-operatives which are engaged in maritime trade to police themselves and carry arms aboard their ships, in case of piracy." He cleared his throat, as he read from the prepared statement.
"We believe that, however, in cases of international terrorism by rogue groups, it is the responsibility of all nations to combat it, and will gladly participate in any International and apolitical body which neutrally concerns itself only with the detection, detainment and destruction of maritime pirate and terrorist groups. Matters regarding to the conduct of commerce or the freedom of maritime vessels, much less matters of national naval security, should remain solely within the sphere of that nation's control."

 

[Touzen]

(Assuming that no other posts for introductions will be made, I will forward this tomorrow.)

 

[Europaland]

Foreign Minister Saida Nasri wasn't particularly interested in attending the conference and the Defence Minister was busy with the Engellex crisis so President Nordahl had asked the lower-ranking Foreign Affairs Secretary Sigrid Åsheim to go instead. Ms Åsheim was a member of parliament from Nordland and had worked in the Foreign Ministry for several years before being appointed to her current position by the President. Before being elected to parliament for the Socialist Left Party she had served for many years in the country's armed forces, something unusual among top politicians excluding the compulsory 12 months of course which almost everyone did.

After a long flight Sigrid was glad to finally arrive at the conference even if a little late. In the informal style typical of Europalandian politicians she had turned up at the conference casually dressed wearing jeans, a comfortable top and a traditional Nordland wool jumper. She sat down between the Eiffeland and Franken delegates and took out her laptop so she could remain in touch with Europa City for the duration of the conference and follow any new developments relating to the naval deployment in the Great Sea. Her government's recent decision was bound to be queried by at least one of the delegates and might even emerge as an important topic of discussion.

After everyone else had spoken Ms Åsheim turned on her microphone:

On behalf of Europaland I thank Touzen for organising this conference here today. As one of the responsible nations of Europe we are very much concerned at the escalating insecurity affecting some of Europe's most important shipping routes. We ourselves have recently been forced to step up security in the Great Sea due to a number of threats and hostile remarks made by unstable and unpredictable regimes. While it is sadly impossible, in today's world, to completely guard against such behaviour by states founded on autocratic and non-democratic principles it should certainly be within reach to come to some agreement which will at least provide a greater degree of safety and security for ships in international waters than we have at present. I hope that during the conference we will hear many useful proposals as to how this can be done.

 

[Caelia]

KPR Special Ambassador on Maritime Security, General-admiral Volodymyr V. Pasternak, shuffled quickly into the room with his aides. He was still fuming about his delayed departure from Kyiv, whoever had sent the KPAADF the wrong flight plan was going to be losing their head when he returned. Maybe literally.

Taking his seat he forced the anger from his mind. Focus Volodymyr.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, it is an honour to meet with you today on behalf of the glorious Kyivan Peoples Republic. As you are all aware maritime insecurity is an issue that has become all to real for the Peoples Republic after the tragic loss of our freighter, the Hyrvnia. It is my sincerest hope, and the hope of my leader, that the nations of Europa can begin to cooperate on this most pressing matter so that the tragedies of the Hyrvnia and the Tien Hau are not repeated".

His words were shallow, but he wanted to tread lightly at this stage. Kyiv derived enormous leverage from it's military power, but that same leverage could be used to build a coalition against it should Kyiv be perceived as too threatening by the middle powers. His first objective then would be to find partners to forge common ground with. Looking around the table he already had a few representatives in mind...

 

[Great Engellex]

Hirosaki, Constitutional State of Touzen

Having learnt that a conference was to take place in Hirosaki, the Queen-Empress asked the Northern Secretary, whose department received the invitation, whether that was the case, and having Anthony Pelham-Holles confirm it, the Queen-Empress was desirous and so formed a delegation under the leadership of the War Office to attend the conference and represent Great Engellex; the Royal Engellexic Navy’s Permanent Secretary William J. Grocett – Baron Grocett was invited to lead the delegation on behalf of the War Office, senior Civil Servants of the Northern Department and the Board of Public Trade also partly formed the rather large delegation, notably though was a representative of the Lord Commissioner of Zadar-Istria. Baron Grocett initially declared his disapprobation, of what was the guest list of the conference, though eventually agreed; because he would have to share a breath of air with a Europalandian government official; it wasn’t a secret that Engellex and Europaland were not on perfectly good terms, with great dissatisfaction on the conduct of the feminist regime.

Dulwich was certainly grateful to the Constitutional State and privately hoped the assembled ministers at Hirosaki would be dutiful in forming resolutions on maritime security, as it would certainly lighten the arduous task of the imperial metropolis.

Unfortunately the restless and deluded spirit that has characterised the Europalandian government was coming to show through its delegation, and its effects are already such that great regret was felt across the Engellexic number. The Baron received strict instructions not to counterpoise any rant, tit-for-tat, and despite the enmity directed against Engellex, the Baron was only too happy to remain ignorant of the Europalandian presence. When the Kyivian General-Admiral Volodymyr Pasternak was finished the Baron made a brief opening statement to those assembled and the Touzen host :- I am quite sure that is not necessary of me – as I have no doubt that you know – that her Imperial and Royal Majesty, the Queen-Empress expressed sincere gratitude and compliments of your honourable efforts, Minister Arakaki, within a recent address to the House of Lords. My Sovereign, and her Ministers, has come to invest great courage in the wisdom and liberality, the Baron bore a small grin as the use of the word ‘liberality’ tinged sarcasm aimed at the Europalandian woman, which it is hoped shall mark the deliberations we are all about to embark on, and form a proud set of resolutions that Europe’s mercantile classes can store confidence in.

 

[Rheinbund]

The contrast between the Eiffellandian Vice-Chancellor Rudolph Kögler and the Europalandian Foreign Affairs Secretary Sigrid Åsheim could not be larger: Kögler wore a perfectly fitting hand-made dark-grey suit, a perfectly fitting hand-made white shirt, a dark-red tie made of silk, grey socks and hand-made formal black shoes with leather soles. Kögler had made sure that he looked as formal and impressive as he could. He was in his mid-fifties, but still had all his hair, although some were becoming distinctly grey. He was 1.85 meters tall and tendinous.

At first, Kögler was a bit surprised when he saw Mrs. Åsheim's outfit, but when the latter seated herself between him and the Franconian Foreign Minister Graf Robert Beaumont von Miltenberg, who was as formally dressed as himself, he started to see and appreciate the humor of the situation.

"The recent incidents indeed clearly show the need for a higher security in international waters. There are already quite some treaties about the safety of ships in international waters. I think that those treaties are already enough. However, it is apparently needed to pay more attention to enforce them. I can tell good news about that: Eiffelland has some laws under which piracy in international waters can be prosecuted."

 

[Großlausitz]

Those Europalanders do have an admirable sense of pride, Foreign Minister Graf Miltenberg pondered. While he certainly liked to cloth himself in finely tailored suits as many of his peers in Franken, the Foreign Minister was also aware of the irony that the representatives of Germania's and Europe's more individualistic countries were wearing so similarly looking attire, whereas the chief representative of a distinctly egalitarian communist entity proudly wore her people's traditional clothes. "As the laws of Franken and Eiffelland spring from the same fountains, the Holy Germanic Empire, there's much similarity between the two Kingdoms' law of the seas. What's more, there's the EDF's and Germanic League's treaties on maritime issues. Together with the other regional treaties there's much material we can draw inspiration from to consolidate the various regulations into a series of meta-treaties."

 

[Thaumantica]

Harriet Fauconberg was every bit the Can-Engellexic woman that the Scarlet Society had ever tried to mold. With a Father from Dulwich proper, possessing a legal background, and a Mother from Persephone, possessing a cultural background in the arts and etiquette, the Fauconberg's raised their children to meet the standards of the Old Empire. Cantigian Society, in conformity with these standards, demanded an appreciation for ones heritage and then the inherent colonial ambition to pioneer new and unconquered areas of modern life. At the Queen's College, with such alumni as then Princess Alice and Chancellor North, Harriet had studied beside her typical generation of stuck-up young adults with impressive pedigrees and bloated trust funds. And Harriet Fauconberg was no different, no less the faux-aristocrat from down under, internally tortured by the fact that she had been born far far away from the true heart of Empire.

Complimented by silver accessories of earrings and clutch, the new Chief Officer for Foreign Affairs distanced herself from the lesser races and the poorly dressed. Instead she gravitated quite naturally to the Secretary and Baron William J. Grocett, after intensely greeting Ms. Annika Udén Johansson, of Suionia, who quite impressed her in both dress and composure. Chancellor North had made very clear that hers would be an Oceania of empowered women, white women as if she had to specify, of which the Suionian and Engellexic men might build so industriously as they had their home countries. It was of course the opinion of Madam Fauconberg, and the Covenant Chancellor, that men from Touzen never gathered delegates from around the world to have their opinions changed, but only to have their opinions heard, and drilled in to anyone who might care to listen.

Europe could quite easily be called innocent, impressionable, and downright ignorant to Post-Delegationist Touzen, with perhaps only Kyiv or occupants of the East and its periphery serving as counter-examples. The Minister of Revolutionary Defense and Foreign Affairs had gathered so many here today to agree with him, and to dubiously trick as many rubes as he could to make them think it was their idea. Madam Fauconberg had arrived quite skeptical of the Hirosaki Conference, and was only vaguely willing to listen to Mister Arakaki without an ocean's worth of salt.

"If European Seascapes are to remain both safe and free," Madam Fauconberg began, "then we must clearly define the responsibilities of those who are, and who are not, capable of ensuring harmony on the high seas.". Harriet pointed down towards her nation's flag, the Flag of The Covenant, which accompanied her own name and title. "Where Cantignia is clearly capable of ensuring such harmony in Oceania, it may not be capable of such feats in the realms of Touzen and the Greater East, as surely Touzen could never capably ensure harmony in Oceania . . Cantignia would implicitly advocate that each nation carefully consider its place in the world, socially and militarily, and understand that it cannot by itself safeguard the seas.".

 

[Breotonia]

"The Honorable Madam speaks with much wisdom." Hood began. "The Breotish Navy has been molded over the course of hundreds of years to act as a global protector of the seas. We maintain a capacity for major operation on two simultaneous fronts and for numerous minor operations in every sea except the far east of the Implarian. For that we have for nearly a century deferred to Touzen. However, this mentality no longer applies. It no longer makes sense. The threats faced today at sea are not simply of organized national navies. Twenty-first century piracy, navies exercising hit and run tactics, and the rest of the assorted disruptions we face cannot be successfully combated by individual nations. The threats are too many and the seas are too great. Only cooperation and coordination of all the great naval powers can ensure peaceful waters, if we all attempt to go at it alone we will fail no matter what our power individually. We must jointly adopt the currently haphazard collection international maritime practice and precedent as codified law and then create an apparatus, an agreement within which we can collectively enforce this law."