An Asian and Oceania Summit-Conference - Bangkok

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Konrad rose, "I assume you have assets in the country in question to confirm they do not have ICBMs, conventional or otherwise?"

[Acca Dacca]

Konrad rose, "I assume you have assets in the country in question to confirm they do not have ICBMs, conventional or otherwise?"

My Commander-in-Chief personally saw to it that they were demilitarized. Only today have they started breaking that term.

[Acca Dacca]

Queen Ava Jones looked at Empress Haruhi and said,

"You seem to be totally misinformed about this entire war of mine. This is the second time these dishonorable foes of mine have betrayed the word of a country. The first time around, I gave them terms to abide by. Now, a new regime has disregarded them and when confronted about it, they treated it as a laughing matter. As I dont understand your position, please restate it."

[Elrich von Richt]

Haruhi stood up and glared at Ava.

"I'll ask this politely the first time, don't speak to me in a disrespectful manner as I am your equal.

Our stance is that we will not become involved in this war, period."

[Acca Dacca]

Simply making sure you understand our stance and do not misinterpret our mercifulness as you have our tone. We have only been nice to you, and we understand it is an ODP, but judging off of what it was based on, we felt it was misconstrued.

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Bickering is pointless. What's done is done. Now, to address an earlier point..."

"Hypothetically, if the nation in Oceania is a non-signatory and if the pact had an anti-colonialism clause, then there are no grounds whatsoever for the proposed pact to do anything. If the nation in Oceania was a signatory then the proposed pact would face a key decision. This key decision would be to either recognize the sovereign decision of an independent country to cede territory to a non Oceanic/Asian nation, or to attempt to exert influence to the contrary. The fundamental argument would be: does the pact intend to condemn all colonialism? what of an agreed 'colonization' where some territory in Asia or Oceania is ceded willingly to a non Asian nation?

We reiterate our stance that the formulation of an anti-colonialism clause, if done incorrectly can be disastrous. Given the very little that we know about the situation mentioned by the representative of Greater Pacifica, we aren't able to assess the situation in detail. But if it is a simple matter where an Asian/Oceanic nation ceded territory for a base to a non-Asian/Oceanic nation, and as that nation is not a signatory of this pact, their is no grounds for any form of response other than possibly diplomatic messages expressing disapproval.

We again state that the desire for a united Asian and Oceanic region should focus first upon the original signatories of the proposed pact before it seeks to embroil itself in external matters."

OOC: Fixed

"I remind the delegates of my earlier proposal for the definition of a colony..."

"We could define colonialism as a foreign power forcibly annexing a portion of land. If the people voluntarily join the foreign power, and are given rights equal to all other citizens of that state, then under this definition, it is not colonialism."

"Foreign power, of course, being defined as a non-Asian/Oceanic one. And as the current situatuion was a voluntary one...I see no issue with it."

[Imperator Azenquor]

Haruhi stood up and glared at Ava.

"I'll ask this politely the first time, don't speak to me in a disrespectful manner as I am your equal.

Our stance is that we will not become involved in this war, period."

Lady Sharova did her best to cover up a chuckle as she thought to herself:

'Wow....if she thinks that that was disrespectful, clearly she hasn't been outside of her country much'

She glanced up and then spoke:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely hope that we can get this conference back on track as soon as possible."

[Elrich von Richt]

Haruhi sat back down and cleared her thoughts. Sometimes people have moods, control yourself.

"I agree wholeheartedly, Lady Sharova."

[Subtleknifewielder]

'What am I, invisible?' Anthony thought.

OOC: you guys missed my post.

[Minilla Island]

Minilla Island's Foreign Minister, Peter P. Gualtieri, stands up to address everyone:

"While we have sat and listened, just because we did not talk does not mean we are not interested in what was going on. It is now time for the Royal Republic to improve on its silence. We stand in agreement of the Articles that have been presented so far. What we would like to see is some economic and trade articles in this Alliance. Though many mistake us, rightly or wrongly, as a militarist nation, we have long been on the forefront of trade and economies from the time of our inception. We have long been self-sufficient, with little need for vast aid in the economy. As it has for many others, the World has shrunk, and we need to have an interactive economy.

To this end, I ask that this Council impose an article, on behalf of our Prime Minister, where the member nations would engage in free and unrestricted trade between nations. This will allow everyone in Asia/Oceania to gain massive profits, and strengthen their economies."

[Subtleknifewielder]

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty confident my Queen will agree with me in saying that the Queendom won't agree to a complete elimination of tariffs, as you seem to be proposing. Reduced, yes. Complete elimination, no. And we are not the only nation here that will not agree to this, I know this for a fact."

Turning to Ava, he continued. "We should probably have the articles we have agreed on on some kind of display so no one forgets them."

OOC: AKA, we should probably have the agreed-upoin articles in the OP.

[Imperator Azenquor]

"Any trade articles must be compatible with existing Vauleo-Buryatian legislation regarding import quotas. We will approve of Free trade, under certain conditions, otherwise we will agree to a reduction on tariffs."-Lady Sharova

[Minilla Island]

"We are talking about an equalization of tariffs and trade. Naturally, the concept of "free trade" works in University models. However, we are proposing a system of Fair Trade. And equalization of taxes, fees and tariffs that will make it profitable for all of Asia's nations."

Edited December 24, 2009 by Minilla Island

[Subtleknifewielder]

"That, I don't see a problem with."

Anthony looked like he was about to continue, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he frowned, closing it again. He felt in his pocket for something, pulling out a phone. Evidently he'd had it there, only on vibrate. Looking at the caller ID, he apologized.

"Sorry, I have to take this call," he said, taking strides to exit the room to keep from interfering with the discussions while he talked.

[Imperator Azenquor]

"We are talking about an equalization of tariffs and trade. Naturally, the concept of "free trade" works in University models. However, we are proposing a system of Fair Trade. And equalization of taxes, fees and tariffs that will make it profitable for all of Asia's nations."

"How does your nation define an equalization of trade between two nations?"

[Maelstrom Vortex]

absolutely. Thier airforce is no where near advanced or powerful enough to land anywhere close to here. As of thier navy, we did demilitarize them and sank thier only corvette. They shouldnt be capable of hitting anywhere near here. Also, this fortress is secluded, as well as built by Dragonisian Empire technology under the IndoChina rule.

"It is at least good to know that part of the old Empire's build-up has been maintained and is still contributing to Asia." He then moved on to another point, "Dragonisia feels that economic articles distracted from the purpose of this document and will merely divide. Until this disaster we were functioning quite well without any external economic support and most states here are relatively strong despite trade. We see no reason to change the current economic order. Each state protects its own laborers to a degree which fits its relationship with other nations via direct one to one negotiations that is the best way to do trade. As it is we would like to see a final draft prepared soon so that we can get this summit moving in the right direction."

Edited December 24, 2009 by Maelstrom Vortex

[Elrich von Richt]

Haruhi began to scribble down all the articles on a piece of paper and decided to keep it updated.

"Heres what we have so far."

Article I - Sovereignty

Each of the nations bearing a signature on this treaty hereby declares that they will uphold the values and honor of said signatories’ sovereignty. All signatories agree not to invade, interfere in the internal affairs of, or oppress any other signatory that partakes in this treaty. The treaty is for the purpose of unity, not hegemony or personal agenda.

Article II - Non Aggression

The undersigned nations hereby agree to non-aggression with all of the other signatories of this treaty. None of the signatories shall engage in, or provide support (be it military, financial, or diplomatic) to any aggressive action (military, espionage,etc) against another signatory of the treaty even if such an act of aggression is undertaken by a non-signatory.

Article III - Mutual Defense

Signatories agree to defend one another should an undersigned nation be attacked within Asia/Oceanic region. The signatories are also required to help rebuild their attacked friend, and to make diplomatic efforts to restore peace. In the event of a signatory instigating a conflict, the undersigned nations have no binding obligation to provide any form of assistance.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Konrad decided with so much under discussion, this would be a prime opportunity to make known his county's position. He noted one emissary leaving the room on a satellite cellular phone, and chuckled. It's apparent where the trust in his relationship lies... he thought cynically.

He waited for all discussion to subside momentarily, and then took action. "I would like to state on behalf of my country, that it affirms it's support in all three of the accepted articles. Furthermore, we would like to state that we believe an economic article seems inadvisable as the current economic state of the Oceanic and Asian regions are profitable as is. In summation, we would like to inquire what, if any, issues are to be brought up after his economic formality?"

Edited December 24, 2009 by Thomas Grimshaw

[iamthey]

"We approve of Empress Suzumiya's present compilation; it seems we are lacking in an economic, and cancellation article.

If the consensus is against free and open trade, perhaps we should simply include a pledge for economic cooperation?"

Edited December 25, 2009 by iamthey

[Minilla Island]

"We approve of Empress Suzumiya's present compilation; it seems we are lacking in an economic, and cancellation article.

If the consensus is against free and open trade, perhaps we should simply include a pledge for economic cooperation?"

Problem is that we do not need a trade war. We need at least an exualization of taxes and tariffs.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Konrad rose:

"Sir, the first article states and I quote "Each of the nations bearing a signature on this treaty hereby declares that they will uphold the values and honor of said signatories’ sovereignty." THE RIGHT to tax and tariff trade falls under SOVEREIGNTY! Anyone who proposes either be limited or done away with is violating the first article and the spirit behind this treaty."

He cleared his throat, "If you'll excuse my...enthusiastic emphasis. I will make it known here and now that any limitation on tarriffs or taxes of trade by this treaty will be strongly opposed by those whom I represent. That which is not broken, need not be fixed. However, we would not be against an economic cooperation article."

Konrad sat again, his nerves were getting to him.

[iamthey]

"Well under that reasoning Mr. Konrad Article III would be a violation of sovereignty as it mandates particular action on the part of the signatories. Moreover Article I derives its power from the treaty itself, thus particular violations of sovereignty within the treaty itself are exceptions to Article I rather than violations. Obviously any sort of cooperative treaty that isn't optional would have some implications on internal policy, otherwise it would just be a Non-aggression pact.

That being said its simply standard practice that a conference like this would at least touch on the notion of economic activity. Now as a nation we would be unable to agree to any sort of a la cart tariff or tax removal, we ultimately have to look out for our own self sufficiency and our own economic integrity before we can begin discussing foreign trade policy, I think most would agree on this point. However that doesn't mean we are not interested in doing business with Oceania, and Asia or even making it the primary focus of our imports and exports. Thats why I think at the very least we can come to some sort of agreement in terms of at least pledging that when deterring foreign trade policy we will first look to the region for our needs and then to the rest of the world? Giving one another mutual preference can help keep wealth within the region, where it can help our people and our nations... If that makes sense."

Edited December 25, 2009 by iamthey

[Imperator Azenquor]

"First, we must say that the 'right to tax' is not indicative of sovereignty. The general definition of sovereignty refers to an entity (usually a government) having supreme, independent authority over a territory. And in essence represents the entity freely exercising its ability to govern. To sign an agreement regarding free trade is not an infringement upon sovereignty, as if the nation's government signs such an accord, it has used the sovereign powers afforded to it to enact a law under the auspice of an international agreement.

The right of sovereignty is maintained regardless of an individual's decision to reduce, eliminate, or maintain a status quo regarding their import taxes. There is no condition that forces a government to sign the proposed document. So if in the final text, the economic article mandates free trade between all signatories, and if an individual government feels that this is incompatible with their own individual laws, then they can exercise their sovereign power to not sign the proposed pact.

Secondly, under the idea put forward by the representative from USET, it can also be argued that the non-aggression clause would be against 'sovereignty' as it would take away the 'right to declare war on anyone a government chooses', and the mutual defense clause would be against 'sovereignty' as it would take away the 'right to choose when to utilize armed forces'. By virtue of that definition, any international agreement would be against 'sovereignty' as it would bind a government to doing something.

The purpose of invoking the sovereignty clause is to clarify that the treaty under consideration will respect the right of the individual governments of the signatory nations to govern their territories, and will not remove that right from them. It reiterates that no matter what is agreed upon in the text of the treaty, that it will not remove the ability of the individual governments to control and govern their own territory.

That is all."-Lady Sharova

[Acca Dacca]

"It is at least good to know that part of the old Empire's build-up has been maintained and is still contributing to Asia." He then moved on to another point, "Dragonisia feels that economic articles distracted from the purpose of this document and will merely divide. Until this disaster we were functioning quite well without any external economic support and most states here are relatively strong despite trade. We see no reason to change the current economic order. Each state protects its own laborers to a degree which fits its relationship with other nations via direct one to one negotiations that is the best way to do trade. As it is we would like to see a final draft prepared soon so that we can get this summit moving in the right direction."

The Dragonisian Empire fell during my reign, but they were gracious enough to give us the Indochinese land. Through respect and admiration, they have become a part of the culture and we are very well kept on our traditions.

As for the economic portion of this treaty, I believe a simple free trade agreement or at least a regulation on tariffs would be commendable enough without hurting the larger countries to the point that it wouldnt be beneficial at all.

[Sir Keshav IV]

Megan Fox immediately replied to the trade arguments-

"PRC cannot and will not except any article which makes free trade or reduce in tariffs mandatory. It will hurt our nations economy drastically."