SD.net's World (RAR!)

[Vohu Manah]

The Qudlivun Free State has dispatched its diplomatic delegation via commercial air.

The Secretary General is alarmed at the fact the Grand Duchy of Baal wields 24 F-22 Raptors, and immediately raises the following question on the 1st Grand Conference of Nations:

At the current per unit cost of $138 million USD per F-22 Raptor, the purchase of 24 of the fighters alone would approximately half of this nation's GDP (assuming full price was paid). In addition, the Qudlivun Free State is concerned by the implied precedent set since it wasn't authorized jet fighters in its initial equipment outlay but a nation with a lower post count would be.

EDIT: This section was written before I noticed it had been addressed by other posters.

1) Who sold to Duchy of Baal advanced arms far beyond it's means.

The Qudlivun Free State would like to open negotiations with said nation since they obviously offer great discounts on modern weaponry and technology.

2) What rules shall we make regarding arms proliferation - free arms exports? Even if nukes or WMDs are exported to small states?

It is the firm belief of the Qudlivun Free State that no nation should possess weapons of mass destruction and that no purpose is served by them other than continue the unnecessary arms race. As a poorer nation surrounded by much larger powers and huge, conflicting military alliances, we are forced to devote a large amount of our already stretched resources to defending against the apparently inevitable exchanges of WMDs or obtain our own as a deterrent to their use.

Given our nation's stated neutrality in regards to these military alliances in what may be a vain attempt to provide a truly neutral meeting place for all nations as well as provide a home for truly international aid agencies, we cannot in good conscience arm ourselves with such weapons and must instead work to create a solely defensive deterrent such as land based missile interceptors or ground based lasers.

What say you, other honourable delegates of this great body?

The Qudlivun Free State hereby proposes a temporary halt to military acquisitions by all nations for the purpose of review and determination by the august body as to the appropriateness of all weapon developments and technologies. If such a measure has already been offered by another nation we will support said measure.

We would also like to reaffirm our position on the Law of the Sea that we still agree with the setting of territorial and contiguous zone water marks be set at the 22 and 44 nautical mile marks.

[Decue]

The High Lord travels to the summit by helicopter to Acadia's Airport and limo to the Congress Hall were he is pleasantly surprised to meet Prime Minister Shroom the Seven Hundred Seventy Seventh and Secretary General Stanislav of the Red Technocracy.

Our wise leader also agrees to the proposal made by the Secretary General.

[K. A. Pital]

[Wait. The Duchies have no jets of whatever kind at startup, period. It's the rules.

Shady will also have to get penalized for listing F-22 raptors - no way he can have them

Shinn did not break rules, he only has choppers.]

That said, I fully support the concerns of Quidlivun, as I do see a nation in genuine concern for peace and stability, and plagued by the common problems the rapid naval militarization and deployment has inflicted on smaller nations, unbearable costs of defense and possible WMD procurement.

The Qudlivun Free State hereby proposes a temporary halt to military acquisitions by all nations for the purpose of review and determination by the august body as to the appropriateness of all weapon developments and technologies. If such a measure has already been offered by another nation we will support said measure.

I support this proposal.

The new arms scandal should mean temporary halt on arms sales, for the duration of the Conference, while it examines the data files provided by participant nations.

[General Deathdealer]

[Wait. The Duchies have no jets of whatever kind at startup, period. It's the rules.

Shady will also have to get penalized for listing F-22 raptors - no way he can have them

Shinn did not break rules, he only has choppers.]

Our Air Force is now gone.

[DarthShady]

[Wait. The Duchies have no jets of whatever kind at startup, period. It's the rules.

Shady will also have to get penalized for listing F-22 raptors - no way he can have them

Shinn did not break rules, he only has choppers.]

[[OOC: Shady will now remove the F-22 raptors from his list.]]

EDIT: [[ I have also removed the Atomic Canon ]]

[K. A. Pital]

[@ out of universe: problem solved]

The Secretary General is glad to hear that this has been mere posturing by a small nation.

We fully understand that in such rough times, when CVN groups have been rapidly deployed to the Central and other Seas of SDN-World, it is at least reasonable for a small nation to present it's military stronger than it really is.

We also are thankful to Emperor Shady for correcting his provided datafiles. We understand that the Raptor hoax is good for deterring enemy attacks, but it undermines the trust between Conference members.

[Losonti Tokash]

The Representative and his delegation arrive in the early morning and are quickly ushered into a waiting limousine which takes them to the conference. Though nearly late, they do manage to arrive in time to be privy to the Red Technocracy's proposition. Representative Tokash briefly stands to make his agreement known and returns to his seat before entering into a hushed conversation with his aide.

[WesFox13]

The Representive of Vulpesia arrvies by commerical Jet and drives up to the building in a small hybrid car. He does this to show that the Republic of Vulpesia cares about the enviroment that we all live in. Suprisingly the majority of cars driven in the country are either hybrids or electric cars.

The leader of Vulpesia; Lord Wesley Sheridan Montgomery the First, had said that Vulpesia must become self sufficent in their energy needs. So far the parliment of Vulpesia has encouraged souces of energy that have low or no pollution. They have suceeded in part because of their use in Nuclear energy, where 95% of the nuclear waste is recycled for further use in their power plants. They also use Solar, Wind, and Geothermal energy to fuel their electric grid.

[Simplicius]

The Kingdom of St. George officially welcomes the foreign delegations to Acadia.

The Government of St. George addresses the Red Technocracy's proposal as follows:

• 1.) We find acceptable the establishment of a free inspection rule for nuclear and biological weapons. However, we propose that inspection teams comprise representatives from at least two different power blocs, to be decided upon beforehand, as a check against the possibility of espionage.
  
  We recognize the sovereign right of a nation to establish a strategic nuclear deterrent. Consequently, we propose that all findings by these inspection teams be made public, but that action in an international forum, including economic sanctions or military action, not be allowed to be taken on those findings alone.
  
  We condemn to development of bioweapons on the grounds that biological agents pose a threat to all nations in this archipelago regardless of alliance or enmity. We concur that confirmed findings of bioweapons development should be actionable by the international community.
  
  2.) We agree that the Law of the Sea should permit all vessels, civil and military, peaceable transit between our respective islands.
  
  However, we would like to propose that the territorial limit be set at twenty miles rather than ten, in order to preserve the contiguity of the waters between our numerous coastal islands and secure those same waters for our fishing industry, which is a substantial portion of our economy.
  
  In order that this does not impede the necessary passage of shipping, we propose that foreign traffic through territorial waters be permitted provided that traffic is a) open, not covert and b) exclusive of any operations or actions save direct transit and lifesaving, including but not limited to military exercises, fishing, ballast dumping, and receiving or offloading passengers or cargo.
  
  We state our concern that the territorial waters of St. George will overlap those of the Arab Ba'ath Empire of Saddamistan, and ask that any Law of the Sea framework include suitable permissions for a robust reponse to a violation of its conditions.

The Acadia Daily Times

AD ASTRA - Or Maybe Just the Tropics
Waste, Fraud Mar Rocket Program

Independent investigation into the private aerospace company VCor has revealed that government funds allocated for the development of a booster rocket have instead been used to purchase alcohol-soaked prostitute-laden cruises to equatorial climes aboard a 175-foot motor yacht. The program was meant to produce a working launch vehicle for the government's attempt to put a communications satellite in orbit during the nation's quadricentennial celebrations in two years. This discovery may lead to the shelving of those plans, unless an alternate launch vehicle can be obtained.

"VCor is a private company providing vital competitive services at a level of efficiency that a government monopoly could never hope to reach," said a VCor spokesman in an interview. "Perhaps our business model is simply too sophisticated for the public sector to comprehend."

VCor's CEO was out of the country and not available for comment.


The Edgecomb Reporter

Congressional Inquiry into Radar Deployment

A Defence Ministry plan to install long-range radars on some of its P-3C Orion patrol planes is among several defense programs coming under scrutiny, as next year's defense budget is debated in the Congress. "I'm all in favor of a strong military," said one Selectman, "but to put it simply, I don't want to see such a large chunk of money spent all at once."

Also under Congressional consideration are plans to build a network of anti-aircraft missiles and to install anti-shipping missile batteries at key points around St. George's perimeter.

A Defence Ministry official who preferred to remain anonymous said "This is a key time to strengthen our defenses. The covert attack on Mangka has revealed the propensity of certain nations to act aggressively beyond their geographic sphere of influence, and we are right next door to a major military power which is thus far dormant but has given hints of an expansive attitude. Capability-building in the present is necessary as a hedge against possible future developments."

At present, the Air Force has procured twelve Orions and wants to buy four radar-carrying P-3AEWs. The first Orion was delivered to the Air Force last week.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

The Duchy of Langley has detected a logistical error in its datafiles concerning the listing of two C-17 Globemaster IIIs in its Air Force inventory. Said error has been corrected.

In other news, the observers dispatched to the First International Convention on the Laws of the Sea have just landed in Acadia, St. George. The Duchy has also received confirmation of its membership in OMSK and the FUNGAL AXIS. Apologies to the government of Shroomania for any breakdowns in communication; we were not aware that confirmation had already been sent once before.

[K. A. Pital]

1.) We find acceptable the establishment of a free inspection rule for nuclear and biological weapons. However, we propose that inspection teams comprise representatives from at least two different power blocs, to be decided upon beforehand, as a check against the possibility of espionage.

This is upheld by the Technocracy Delegation. We examined Mangka in joint action with Shroomania, and indeed a minimum of two nations would be required for inspection. Smaller nations should ask for inspection by other powers if they feel threatened and isolated by a certain power. If no nation takes up to accompany the concerned nation as the second party, this small nation has the right to call up a Conference or voice it's concerns to it's power bloc.

We condemn to development of bioweapons on the grounds that biological agents pose a threat to all nations in this archipelago regardless of alliance or enmity. We concur that confirmed findings of bioweapons development should be actionable by the international community.

That is upheld, so far all nations agree to this unanimously.

However, we would like to propose that the territorial limit be set at twenty miles rather than ten

In the light of tight naval zones and the essential role of fisheries, this is upheld too.

We state our concern that the territorial waters of St. George will overlap those of the Arab Ba'ath Empire of Saddamistan, and ask that any Law of the Sea framework include suitable permissions for a robust reponse to a violation of its conditions.

A military violation of waterspace for other things than free pass-through should be enough grounds for a casus belli, I suggest.

[Vohu Manah]

2.) We agree that the Law of the Sea should permit all vessels, civil and military, peaceable transit between our respective islands.

However, we would like to propose that the territorial limit be set at twenty miles rather than ten, in order to preserve the contiguity of the waters between our numerous coastal islands and secure those same waters for our fishing industry, which is a substantial portion of our economy.

In order that this does not impede the necessary passage of shipping, we propose that foreign traffic through territorial waters be permitted provided that traffic is a) open, not covert and b) exclusive of any operations or actions save direct transit and lifesaving, including but not limited to military exercises, fishing, ballast dumping, and receiving or offloading passengers or cargo.

We state our concern that the territorial waters of St. George will overlap those of the Arab Ba'ath Empire of Saddamistan, and ask that any Law of the Sea framework include suitable permissions for a robust reponse to a violation of its conditions.

The Qudlivun Free State hereby proposes to all nations of this new world the establishment of the Law of the Sea. The Law of the Sea defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

This proposal establishes that the territorial waters of all nations to extend 12 nautical miles out from the internal waters (all water and waterways landward side of low-water coastal areas). The contiguous zone extends an additional 12 nautical miles beyond the territorial waters. Nation states which exist on archipelagoes or island chains are allowed to designate all waters between their islands as internal waters so long as they do not unnecessarily obstruct transit of vessels in an expeditious and continuous manner. For the purposes of waters, waterways and straits between two nations with a width less than 48 nautical miles between internal waters this accord evenly splits control of said waters, waterways or straits between the two nations with zone boundaries adjusted accordingly.

Foreign vessels have no rights of passage through internal waters. All vessels (including military vessels) are permitted innocent passage through territorial waters including strategic straits so long as such transit is in a peaceful, non-threatening manner towards the controlling nation. However no foreign vessel is permitted to legally engage in acts such as fishing, polluting, weapons practice or spying in another's territorial waters and the government controlling the territorial water is permitted to shut down access to such waters as a temporary security measure. For the purpose of engaging in law enforcement activities (such as preventing illegal immigration or prevent smuggling) or develop offshore resources (such as drilling for oil or operating a fishery) a government is permitted to operate vessels in its contiguous zone, though it may not deny access to the area for the purpose of innocent passage of foreign vessels.

The waters encompassing internal, territorial and contiguous waters are also the full extent of the nation's exclusive economic zone, whereby the governing nation controlling those waters has sole exploitation rights of all natural resources within those waters. No nation state as a party of this accord may charge any fee, tax or tariff to any vessel for use of waters in accordance with this agreement. All other waters beyond the contiguous zone are international waters, free to vessels of all nations and owned by none of them.

This proposal also demands all signatories to take all reasonable measures to protect the marine environment and protect the freedom of research on the high seas.

EDIT 1: Added following line to fourth paragraph of Law of the Sea proposal: "No nation state as a party of this accord may charge any fee, tax or tariff to any vessel for use of waters in accordance with this agreement."
EDIT 2: Restored original 12 nautical mile marks. Added line concerning waterways and passages less than necessary distance (proper dividing line requires 48 nautical miles between two nation states) at end of second paragraph: "For the purposes of waters, waterways and straits between two nations with a width less than 48 nautical miles between internal waters this accord evenly splits control of said waters, waterways or straits between the two nations with zone boundaries adjusted accordingly."

[Zixinus]

What of chemical weapons? Should they not be regulated?

Also, shouldn't nuclear test firing be banned altogether somewhat? The seismic activity and radioisotopes released could do severe damage to both human and marine life outside a nation's territory.

I see no opposing reason to sign the Law of the Sea.

I would like to take the opportunity to announce that the first commercial hydrogen-run plane has made its maiden flight. While the Harpy (named after its high-pitched sound) still has its problem of sonic pollution and small erratic tendencies of its engine, it has been proven to be able to fly a over 20 kilometres in medium wind.

[Mr Bean]

And now with the news Alert this is the BBC

"In World News Today the UKB Minsters arrived for talks today between the various nations. The current speculation is that the UKB will back the purposed 22 mile limit in most cases with the cavet that if two nations are less than 44 miles apart in any area then by default that region of the sea would not be a 22 mile zone but instead the area would be divided in half with each nation claiming half of the area minus one nautical mile which would remain a free sea area.

"A high ranking government official said the following. While the 22 mile zone is a good idea in theory this world is not the kindest to us in that regards, many nations are less than fifty miles apart, either we must accept a less limit of area or we must come up with a compromise. We hope our suggestion that keeping a one mile area between each country will be meet with acceptance, because there is the very real issue of tariffs that would result otherwise. "

[K. A. Pital]

Would the initiator of the Law of the Sea Draft, the honourable Vohu Manah, agree to the amends proposed by the U.K.B. that eliminate the issue of tariffs?

If so, the Draft would be lifted up for voting.

What of chemical weapons? Should they not be regulated?

Who else upholds this idea? Could you propose a draft?

Also, shouldn't nuclear test firing be banned altogether somewhat?

Proposal: nuclear test firing polygones have to be at least 1000 nautical miles into the open seas off SDN Archipelago.

[Vohu Manah]

"A high ranking government official said the following. While the 22 mile zone is a good idea in theory this world is not the kindest to us in that regards, many nations are less than fifty miles apart, either we must accept a less limit of area or we must come up with a compromise. We hope our suggestion that keeping a one mile area between each country will be meet with acceptance, because there is the very real issue of tariffs that would result otherwise. "

Question for the cartographers: what is the shortest distance between any two powers? If that distance is at least 50 nautical miles than the original 12 and 24 nautical mile marks would be more than sufficient for the purposes outlined in the original proposal while addressing the stated UKB concerns.

[Vohu Manah]

Would the initiator of the Law of the Sea Draft, the honourable Vohu Manah, agree to the amends proposed by the U.K.B. that eliminate the issue of tariffs?

Done.

[Shroom Man 777]

Shroomania sees no reason to object to any of the propositions thusfar.

However, as the issue involving the proliferation of WMDs has been brought up, Prime Minister Shroom would like to release certain papers given to him by Emperor Shady, stating that it is part of Shroomania's responsibility to represent all the members of the FUNGAL AXIS, including the Shadow Empire.



These papers are de-classified documentations of the Shadow agents' activities in Mangka. After the Shadow operatives' sabotage became an international incident, the Shadow Empire passed their intelligence data to Shroomania, which, in turn, shared it with the Red Technocracy for analysis.

The findings are as follows:



While the government of the Republic of Mangka had no detectable biological weapons program, Mangkan organized crime syndicates (the triads) were plotting to use biological weapons for their own ends. The Shadow agents believed that the triads owned several pharmaceutical factories that could have easily been converted to produce bioweapons within a span of months and acted to preempt any development, believing that the triads would not be averse to selling newly-made bioweapons to the highest bidder.



The Shadow agents acted in such manner because they believed that due to the Mangkan government's rumored corruption, any effort to collaborate with the Republic of Mangka's government would have ended up compromising their operations, thus allowing the organized crime syndicates to escape and continue their plans of bioterrorism at a later time.

With the cooperation of all parties, a multilateral initiative could have resolved the situation without incident - but such an option was not available at the time, regrettably.

Nevertheless, it is best that this incident be not repeated in the future. Hopefully, the recent MESS law-enforcement initiatives in the Republic of Mangka will reduce the sway of these troublesome organized crime syndicates.

[K. A. Pital]

Dedicated to keeping the international community up to date on geography, the Red Techocracy has released, with full international cooperation, the SDN World 1.4 Atlas (reload!):

And the OMSK Pact is keen to announce that Shepnukistan, a great nation to the north, is one of it's members (page 2 of said Atlas):


The Red Techocracy signs the Law of the Sea.

It also expresses support to the FUNGAL AXIS and it's member state Shadow Empire for conducting such a dangerous intelligence operation with minimal collateral damage. It is proposed that the Shadow Empire face no penalties for the actions of it's intelligence service, who truly have been acting for a greater good of all, and hard pressed to complete their mission.

Bioweapons ban is now supported by most members of the Conference and thus could be counted ENACTED.

[PeZook]

King Paul the First arrived at the conference late due to weather troubles over the Republic. After a bried stay at a diplomatic hotel, the Republican Delegation proceeded to the council chambers, where they arrived during a brief respite in talks.

The King traded kind words with other national leaders - especially Emperor Shroom, the Secretary General Stanislav, king Tiriol and Master Baerne, which reflects good relations between the Republic and other regional powers. After being briefed on the conference's prior conduct, he requested the floor after delegates returned to the chambers.

"First of all, I would like to thank the assembled national leaders for their concern about international peace. This conference is a truly historic event of SD.net world, showing that we are willing to co-operate in the interest of international stability."

"The II Republic would like to support the idea of a 12 mile stretch of the sea to be considered territorial waters of island nations. As for issue of straits and overlapping territorial waters, we would like to suggest a solution based on the original Law Of The Sea declaration of Earth. Straits, defined as narrow water channels where normal territorial waters would overlap, would be considered parted halfway between countries bordering with them, in such a way that provides equal area to all bordering nations. Furthermore, such straits would not be considered territorial waters for the purpose of peaceful passage of merchant ships carrying cargo."

"As for other matters presented thus far,the II Republic stands firmly behind the Red Technocracy's proposal that all nation should open their nuclear, biological and chemical plants to inspection. The Republic, for one, has nothing to hide and is perfectly willing to be subject to this regulation."

"Furthermore, we believe that the danger of biological weapons falling in the hands of terrorists and crime syndicates should be a matter of grave concern to all nations. Recent human trade scandals uncovered in various countries prove that international banditism truly knows no boundaries and no ethics, and will not hesistate to threaten smaller nations with extinction, should it suit their goals. This matter must be resolved swiftly."

With these words, the King gave the floor to the next speaker.

Addendum: The delegation has also expressed the II Republic's support of the biological weapons ban.

[Zixinus]

[OOC]Am I not member of the Alliance for Advanced Nuclear and Space Development? [/OOC]

Announcement:

As I see no objectionable measure againts it, I, the king of the Monarchy of the Mermaid, hereby sign the Law of Sea along with the bioweapons ban.

Discussion:

Proposal: nuclear test firing polygones have to be at least 1000 nautical miles into the open seas off SDN Archipelago.

What of the effects of ocean current?

[Shroom Man 777]

Hrm... I do not remember asking the Monarchy of the Mermaid to join the FUNGAL AXIS.

Prime Minister Shroom the Seven Hundred Seventy Seventh met the Monarch of the Mermaids in the Conference Hall's bathroom and the two engaged in friendly chatter before the Prime Minister offered the Monarch a slot in the FUNGAL AXIS.

[Simplicius]

The St. George delegation feels obliged to ask: what of an instance where there is less than 1 nm between territories?



Linekin Rock is a St. Georgian possession located immediately off the coast of the Arab Ba'ath Empire of Saddamistan. The Kingdom of St. George foresees the potential for conflict over Linekin in the absence of an agreement on the territorial issues it raises. As communications with the Arab Ba'ath Empire have not been successfully established, and as the Arab Ba'ath Empire has not sent a delegation to this Conference, we see no option but to seek a solution in the international framework.

[Master_Baerne]

Baernish News Service
File BNS-5

The Baernish govenment agrees with His Excellency Mr. Bean's proposal of a minimum distance between territorial waters; such an area cannot help but decrease conflict between nations.

In other news, the Joint Baernish-Shroomanian Robofishing Initiative was announced today.

The Initiative will focus upon a fleet of robotic fishing vessels designed by Shroomanian scientists and built in the Baernish shipyards in Forgeville. These ships, which will be fully automated, are intended to free the Shroomanian and Baernish populations from the drudgery of fishing. Shroomania has indicated that it will shoulder some of the cost burden.

[Shroom Man 777]

The Prime Minister echoes the St. George delegation, as he recalls quite vividly the grandiose statements of King Saddam regarding the Ba'ath Empire holding claim to all of space...