NationStates Jolt Archive

Dear Havenic Friends!

Everybody has heard, by now, the old 'Havenic Madness' joke – the idea that Havenites are demented, that they are unable to resolve their differences except through the bayonet and the sword. But we know better.

True, war and violence are a staple of Havenic life. Millions of troops lie buried in Haven's soil, thousands of warships line Haven's sea lanes. But that does not mean that Haven cannot resolve, peacefully, those issues that concern all Havenites.

As you all know, Haven has once had a treaty, known as the Maritime Treaty of Gerburg, to regulate maritime law within the region. However, since then, the definition of 'Haven' has expanded significantly. The Haven Straits are no longer Haven's only major maritime route. The Strobovian Strait, the Axackal Sea, the Omzian Sea are now key routes for both civilian and military vessels.

Further, the political and social make-up of the region of our region is now different. Where once Communists and Progressives ruled the day, today, liberals, libertarians, and conservatives have come to dominate the region. Where previously ensuring the continuation of Communist rule was a key concern, now we must keep out the military influences of Gholgoth and NATO, and also to ensure the flow of trade within Haven.

As such, we in Allanea believe in the need to negotiate a new variant of the Treaty of Gerburg, both for its own sake and to restart the normal workings of Havenic multilateral diplomacy.

We will be happy to see your Foreign Minister or equivalent official in the Liberty-City Convention Hall, on $date. Non-Government Organizations are also welcome to arrange for a speaking delegate.

Yours Sincerely,
Maverick Monningham,
United States Secretary of State


* * *

The Liberty-City Convention Hall is not actually a single hall. Rather, it includes a large dome-style structure for the main Convention hall (capable of accomodating up to 30,000 guests), and additional minor halls, small movie theaters, four hotels, and so forth.

One of these hotels, and a 'small' meeting hall within it, are reserved for delegates. A small detachment of troops in black parade uniforms protects the facilities.

King Yusuke had decided to come to Liberty-City for the negotiations, to the protest of his newly appointed cabinet and Prime Minister. After completing his nearly 12,000 km, 17 hour flight, the tired King had slept off in the specialy-delegated Allanean hotel - with his own detachment of guards, of course.

After waking up to some peculiar Allanean tea, he marched his way down into the conference hall and sat himself down, happy to notice merely Maverick Monningham had managed to beat him to the conference. Bored, he decided to have some fun.

"おはよう、Maverick Monningham! あなたはかなり興味深い国! あなたの紅茶は非常に奇妙な、しかし。" The King smirked.

The Allanean eyed the Shansekian King talking to him in a strange language, and looked around for his translator. He wasn't around - probably hasn't woken up yet.

So Monningham winged it. "Good day, your Majesty. How do you like fair Allanea?"

The King had had his fun - now was time for serious talk.

"I didn't get much of a look around, Mr. Monningham." spoke the King in fluent English. After all, Shansekians learned English in secondary school. "I just arrived late last night, I'm afraid. Maybe you could help me point out some locals to visit after the negotiations - I haven't been to a foreign land in quite some time."

As Mondoth has considerable interest in seeing a new maritime treaty of Haven, Commissioner Natalie Goldman of the National Commission on Havenic Affairs will be attending to see Mondoth's interests represented.

The Questarian ambassador, the Sea Minister, was reminded sufficiently how much he despised Allanean culture upon his travel to the country. On arriving to this convention and noticing there were people already there, he stealthily avoided their eyes and dashed to the toilet while a porter took his luggage away. Perhaps he could avoid them until the conference itself started.

"You may want to reconsider the sight-seeing, your Majesty. An Allanean's idea of what constitutes 'fun' tends to be a bit more open ended than most. The last party Mr. Kazansky had me hung over for weeks."

Setting his laptop down on the table, the Otagian bowed to Yusuke and Maverick before taking a seat.

"Forgive my rudeness, your majesty. I am Matthias Althese, Otagian Ambassador to Allanea. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The impeccably dressed Duke of Eastonia, the Hamptonian delegate sent to the treaty conference, coolly observed the conference conditions and the officials he come across while arriving at the hotel. As Minister of State for Haven he had been to Allanea before and while he could not appreciate elements of its society, Lord Easton recognized the positive contributions that the Allaneans had made to Havenic security in recent years.

It was his hope, as well as that of HIRAM government, that some sort of binding agreement could be formed. However as a staunch realist, and direct witness to many previous failed initiatives, Hamptonian hopes for a new Treaty of Gerburg were relatively low. The first obstacle to overcome, and a harbinger of success or failure, would be the start of this very conference. Unless enough nations showed up and agreed to negotiate any resulting agreement would have its lifespan marked in months, if not weeks.

OOC: Okay, I think that's enough with arrival posts. Please feel free to just assume your presence at the locale.

IC:

“Ladies and gentlemen,” - smiled Maverick Monningham as he walked towards the podium, “-let us begin this conference.” - he grabbed a remote control, and a giant screen lit up behind him, showing the text of The Maritime Treaty of Gerburg (http://z6.invisionfree.com/OHS/index.php?showtopic=371) - “As you see, friends and Havenites, the current treaty is very inadequate. Not only is it limited only to the Haven Straits – which are no longer Haven's only key merchant and military waterway, but its rules regarding foreign warships are downright bizarre, and need to be at least discussed if not redrafted completely.”

“While I prefer not to disclose my suggestions until the situation unfolds – and in truth, the United States has no definite official position on many issues as of yet – I would like to suggest that the scope of the treaty be expanded to cover, at least, the Axackal Sea, the Stroboian straights, the Hallad sea and the other chief Havenic waterways. And now, I would like to listen to your suggestions, comrades.”

The Sea Minister, Sir Frances Wheeling, was not impressed. Already they had just started and this idiot was showing off Gerburg and calling people comrades. In a flippant display of dismissal, Wheeling, who had been tapping tobacco into his pipe, let off a gigantic puff of smoke and for a few moments his entire face was covered in white smoke before it slowly dispersed.

"My suggestion is somewhat simple. This is an issue that can be resolved quickly and easily. We should firstly decide upon a length of distance that nation's may claim their maritime waters, for the purpose of sovereignty, and then secondly we should decide upon the transit of commerce through Havenic waters. That is the simple issue. Clearly commerce must be free to travel wherever it likes, irrespective of national waters and without tax, inspection, or other hindrance. And obviously, they may only pass through private property, as in, waters owned by individuals and not by states, with the permission of those individuals, and must endure whatever regulation those individuals seek to impose."

Another cloud of smoke surrounded Wheeling as he fiddled with the ashtray, generally uninterested in what anyone else would have to say.

Monnigham nodded. “Bravissimo, Sir! As for the simple issue, I think the limit for territorial waters ought to be set at 250 kilometers – that's slightly above the old limit the commies had, but we'll all agree cruise missiles and weaponry improved since then. As for the other rules, I agree they should be made less restrictive. As far as I am concerned – though others may disagree, and I would like to hear everybody's opinion – trade vessels of all nations, Havenic or not, should be free to travel through international waters, and in national waters, countries should extend sovereignty.”

“But what do we do with warships? Specifically, non-Havenic warships? Also, does anybody have issues with the extent of territorial waters?"

The Cottish representative to these talks, the Cottish Foreign Minister, finished sipping his coffee before he spoke in slightly accented English.

«If I may,» He started. «The suggestion the Questerian Sea Minister has offered is a good start, though I would like to add to that suggestion that the nation-states whose waters the merchant vessels in question are passing through should not be denied the right to inspect any vessel that enter their waters if there exists probable cause, as defined by each nation-state independently. After all, I'm sure the honorable Sea Minister wouldn't risk having say drug trafficers or slave traders sail through Questerian waters without being able to take action against them.

«Furthermore, the Realm believes that it should be the undeniable right of any nation-state to deny merchant shipping from a certain nation passage through their waters, assuming they have valid reasons. One example of such action could be, and this is strictly hypothetical mind you, Questers banning Doomani shipping through Questerian waters due to the ongoing conflict between Questers and Doomingsland. Would you not agree sir?» The Foreign Minister asked the Questerian before adding in response to Monningham, «As for the extent of territorial waters, the Realm believes that two hundred fifty kilometers is an acceptable comprimise.»

"Clearly, if you intend this document to be signed by an appreciable amount of nation states, then attempts at regulation must be avoided." Wheeling continued to fiddle with the ashtray. "So we should make no limitations on the amount of territorial waters. Let nations claim as large or as small as they wish. I don't believe that a nation with no Navy would go to the trouble of claiming a thousand kilometres and nor will the Questarian Empire accept a reduction in its current claim of three hundred and fifty kilometres." Wheeling cracked a smile at the sheer arrogance of his implication.

"Generally speaking, Sir, I think, for once, the Allanean and Questarian Governments can see on an eye to eye basis that the aim of this document should be a de-regulation in international commerce, and therefore there ought to be no restrictions in waters either national or international for commercial ships either Havenic or extra-Havenic. The purpose of territorial waters for sovereign reasons ought to be for the purposes of national security and not for the purpose of regulating trade. If we here today were to put together a document with the purpose of demeaning the values of free trade I would be firstly ashamed and secondly redundant."

"It will serve only to bolster regional and international economies if any number of nations can get together and agree to the deregulation of their own sea zones. All our countries have their comparative advantages. His Majesty of Shansekia would doubtless enjoy to see less regulation on the export of Shansekian rice, regardless of how many sign the document." He glanced at the King while taking a puff on his pipe and pausing to enjoy the fine tobacco.

"So too, I am sure, that his Government would prefer to set their own sea zones to whatever level they can afford to protect rather than have a maximum cap set by a treaty. I do not mean to single out Shansekia, because the benefits I have just presented apply to all Havenic nations."

"By extending Sovereignty I would like to assume that you do not mean that Sovereignty is a tool by which trade can be regulated, Sir!" Wheeling smirked. "Sovereignty over territorial matters must be limited. Let nations do as they wish within as much sea space as they can protect, but do not let them regulate the trade of such an arbitrary amount of space." He had been speaking for some time, so the Sea Minister paused to regather his thoughts and clear his throat. "Assuming, of course, they sign the treaty. The treaty ought to have no provision for imposing free trade on states who do not sign it." Wheeling tapped out the last of the tobacco from the pipe and let it dry.

"The Questarian Navy can handle that all too well itself."

He let the words sink in for a moment as his ego pumped itself to maximum. Of course, in democratic societies, the egos of politicians are just the reflected egos of the population.

"And on the matter of foreign ships, we ought to simply omit them. Let it be our individual Governments and indeed armed services who decide whether military forces entering Haven are a threat to our Sovereignty. What we ought to decide is that all signatory nations have an obligation to defend commercial shipping of other signatory nations if said shipping requests aid. That would be a much more fitting contribution to what I can see ought to be a document espousing the ideals of free trade, much more so than establishing an unnecessary system of, shall we say, regional common defence."

The King smirked at the Questerian Sea Minister's thinly veiled insult. "I agree with my Questerian friend here, whether or not he is actually singling me out. Free trade should not be restricted much if at all, even within another nation's national waters. Warships should be regulated individually, not by a large treaty. Different circumstances demand different reactions. An accidental intrusion by a small patrol group is far different than a large strike group sailing into firing range."

"The idea of defending another nation's commercial ships is quite an interesting one. I believe it would be quite supportive of the idea of free trade - that you are truly safe and free to trade while in port."

The Allanean smiled. “I agree with the Questarian representative in principle. In practice, however, this will cause some problems. For one, it will eliminate entirely the ability of nations to enforce their own laws – much as I disagree with a lot of these laws. It will make it very difficult even for libertarian Allanea to defend her shores from illegal immigration. Conversely, the naval mutual defense would bind, for example, Cotland to defend Allanean smuggler vessels – which is patently insane and I am sure Cotlanders would not want to do it.”

“On the other hand, I agree in general with the principle of free trade. Perhaps a provision prohibiting tariffs on naval imports, and the use of port fees as a de-facto tariff is in order? “

Matthais sat back in his chair, arms folded.

"While I understand where you're coming from, Mr. Wheeling, I'm afraid my government wouldn't be able to ratify such an agreement. Unimpeded trade is fine in principle, but we have enough problems with smugglers and pirates already. Without naval patrols to investigate and prevent such crime, we might as well hang a sign over our vessels saying 'shoot me.' Some regulation is clearly required, or what we do today is merely an exercise in vanity."

Leaning forward, he tapped a few notes on his laptop. Nodding, he looked back to the assembled diplomats.

"However, my superiors have no problems with eliminating tariffs against fellow Haven nations, or a clause entitling their merchant vessels to defense by our navy, provided their intentions are on the level. As our Cottish friend noted, defending smugglers and slavers is unreasonable.

"As for the matter of territorial waters, surely you can see, Mr. Wheeling, that without some form of regulation allowed, the entire concept is meaningless. How can a country enforce its laws without the authority to detain suspicious vessels? On the subject of their distance, however, I am sure that a compromise allowing the Questarian Empire to retain its current claim would not be unreasonable. Surely no numbers have been set in stone so early in our discussions."

"I can't imagine Mr. Wheeling really intended his suggestion to defend illegal actions such as piracy and smuggling. obviously no nation could be asked to ignore such threats to their own merchant fleets.
Instead, such an ancillary should have the effect of protecting free trade rather than laying it open to the ravages of smuggling and brigandage. I think in this light, we can all see the benefit of defending merchant vessels as an encouragement of free trade."
The commissioner eased back in her chair, her cigarette, temporarily forgotten had smoldered nearly to nothing, tapping the ashes off the end, she lit another off the end of the first and resumed smoking.

"I don't believe Mr. Wheeling ever mentioned not protecting trade ships. In fact, it has already been said by both him and I that we should all agree to protect each other's trade ships!" exclaimed the surprised King Yusuke, chewing on rice that had not been there a moment ago. "Mr. Matthais, deregulation is not the same as allowing pirating and smuggling to occur!"

“So, how do you intend to legally differentiate between smuggling and legitimate trade?” - the Allanean asked - “It is clear that a definition must exist if this goes through. Otherwise, the treaty would be open to incredible abuse. After all, would you like Allanean cocaine shipments to those countries where it is legal, to take stops in your territory? Surely not! A definition must exist. Perhaps a peaceful transit rule? Something like this:”


“An unarmed ship under Havenic flag can transit peacably through the national waters of any Havenic state and remain exempt from its laws, provided it does not stop at its ports, nor discharge cargo or personnel to land on its soil.”

“Would this be acceptable to all?”

"Mr Althese, I apologise, but I wasn't aware at the time of my proposal that your smugglers and pirates would be signatories to our Treaty!" he glanced impatiently at the pipe. "And furthermore, if Otagia is besieged by pirates and smugglers, let this be reason for the Signatories of this Treaty to sign the clause in defence of commerce and therefore live up to our Treaty expectations by despatching military forces to assist Otagia, if needs be." Wheeling raised an eyebrow as he noticed the Shansekian King's rice. What the hell? "And I take it upon myself to say what I am sure Mr Monnigham is thinking. Your smugglers would not be smugglers if what they were carrying was not contraband."

He observed as both representatives from Mondoth and Shansekia gave a general defence of his views.

"Well yes, that would be acceptable, but I think your missing the point. There is no need to assume that all commercial shipping is guilty of smuggling and therefore deprive it of an opportunity to travel freely under the watchful eye of Havenic naval forces. As the police protect all lorries carrying cargo, and arrest those carrying contraband if they at all catch them, which is done with reasonable efficiency, then so can we protect all ships carrying cargo and as efficiency dictates arrest those carrying contraband if at all caught!"

He coughed and filled up his pipe with tobacco once more.

"Now," he said, lighting it "I believe that is highly acceptable, except that of course, this Treaty ought apply only to its Signatories."

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha, ho-ho-ho" laughed Christopher Snyder, Sub-Minister in the Ministry for Havenic Colonial Foreign Relations; a deep belly laugh that shook his well apportioned gut. "Who would have imagined that Questers would have sent us, not a diplomat, but rather a comedian? Questers, of all nations, lectures us on liberty, oh that is too rich! And then, then they proclaim that this liberty can best be done by making a fiction of the concept of sovereignty. 'Let them claim as much territory as they want, so long as they don't actually treat it as though it were their own sovereign territory.' Oh, what a fine jest that is indeed! And were that not enough, he then denies that there is any role for diplomacy or any pretense of Questers actually abiding by international law. Either do what Questers says, or they shall use military force to make you do as they say, or so they bluster. Oh, 'tis a grand joke indeed, but please Mr. Wheeling, would please send in the actual Questerian diplomatic representative? Your jokes have indeed been quite amusing, but this is a serious endeavor."

The King, no longer munching rice but sipping green tea from a thermos, frowned at the clearly immature Rosdivan representative. "Mr. Snyder, this is a serious endeavor, so I do not understand why you laugh. Mr. Wheeling here never suggested that we should not treat sovereign waters as sovereign waters, nor that his nation is above the law - not to mention that there is yet to be a law for Questers to be above in the first place!" The king took a longer sip of tea before continuing.

"The purpose of sovereign waters is to protect the actual land a nation resides upon, not to simply declare 'This water is mine! Do not sail upon it!' I agree with Mr. Mockingham's recommendation: That as long as a ship does not attempt to land upon actual foreign soil, it should be exempt from its law as well as being allowed to pass through."

"Say, for example, you owned a piece of land, as well as the trading post within it. The area happens to be a crucial trading zone for merchants. Would you stop a merchant from entering your trade post if it is carrying illegal drugs? Of course! But would you stop a merchant from passing by on its way to another town? Surely not."

"If a merchant ships happens to carry contraband, then it should still be allowed through national waters and protected, indiscriminate of its cargo. After all, if one of your nation's trade ships were seized for carrying cargo legal in your nation, would you not be displeased?"

"Of course, as Mr. Wheeling mentioned, the treaty would, sensibly, only apply to signatories. Those who do not wish to cooperate should not be cooperated with."

OOC: I can has join? The Federation commands a fairly important waterway that links Haven with whatever is to the southwest of it (Doom, atm, and whatever is to the south of Doom).

"At the risk of provoking something of a controversy," said Richard Thalhammer, the Federation's Undersecretary of Trade, "it seems that we are ignoring, to a certain extent, the fact that Haven will continue to fight wars nation against nation. Allow me to explain." He took a deep breath, and fought the urge to cough. Dear God, but the Questarian's pipe smoke was strong!

"It has long been a tenet of maritime warfare that the merchant ships flagged under a belligerent's flag are subject to attack by enemy warships engaged in commerce raiding. Considering that we appear to be leaning towards the inclusion of a mutual defense clause, should there be a written exemption for belligerent merchant ships during times of war?" He leaned back in his chair and glanced at the portly Rosdivani minister. Thalhammer was tempted to make a comment, but the Shansekian king had already delivered a suitable response, and so he held his tongue.

"On another note, it seems to me that the Treaty of Gërburg is an essentially decent piece of legislation, though slightly outdated, and many of its tenets could simply be rewritten to refer to 'Haven Territorial Waters' rather than simply 'the Haven Straits'. Hopefully this will provide a decent starting point for further refinement and discussion, allowing us to concentrate upon the specific issues without getting bogged down in generalities."

Maverick Monningham smiled and replied in the nicest and most conciliatory manner he could.

“Very well. Sir Wheeling, I agree – as an Allanean – that the best nations could do to defeat smuggling is to repeal drug laws and give their people freedom. But let me remind you that not everybody agrees with you and me on this issue, and I don't think that our treaty should be a vehicle for this particular issue. We are here to promote secure trade for all Havenites.”

“Now, Mr. Snyder, I am sure you'll agree with me that though Questers used to indeed practice slavery, and while their society still has some problems – nobody is perfect. I think it's a grand error to thus insult them – they are as solid a friend of liberty as any nation in this hall, right now. Now... let me put it this way. IT is true that when you sign any international treaty you give away some of your sovereignty. But we do need some international treaties if we want to have international cooperation. I do agree with both of you.”

“We need rules but we need to avoid laying too heavy a burden on nations within Haven, or they'll avoid signing our deal. This said, would the Questarian and Rosdivani both agree to the compromise I suggested – with Mr. Thalhammer's amendment, like so:”

“An unarmed ship under Havenic flag can transit peacably through the national waters of any Havenic state and remain exempt from its laws, provided it does not stop at its ports, nor discharge cargo or personnel to land on its soil, and provided it does not carry the flag of a state at war with the nation to whom the national waters belong.

"Is that fine with everybody?"

"If I may, Mr. Manningham," spoke up Mr. Snyder, ignoring the Shansekian king's remarks (for what else could territorial waters be if not the actual territory of the nation to dispose of as it pleased and of what use was it as protection in the day of modern missiles and aircraft?), "I wish to propose three more amendments to your amended proposition. Namely, that such restrictions do not apply in the case of force majeure," here making a veritable atrocity of the French words, "nor do the freedoms apply when they may contrast with the understood rights and duties of a neutral nation, nor shall 'peaceful transit' be understood to mean that a nation may not levy appropriate tolls on merchant vessels transiting its waters."

Comsr. Goldman coughed wetly, wiping away a bit of phelgm she took a short draw of her cigarette and spoke "Despite his earlier outburst, I believe Mr. Snyder has a point. Mr. Wheeling's Mutual defense clause, while admirable in intent, ignores some basic facts of international commerce and human nature. Though I believe some sensible limits should be placed on the ability of nations to levy 'appropriate tolls' on peacefully transiting merchant vessels, which unchecked could undo the whole point of the thing." She took another draw on her cigarette and stifled a cough, wincing slightly as she did so.

Generally ignoring what the Rosdivani had to say, Wheeling continued to refuel his pipe. However, at some point during his speech, he simply paused mid-refuel and glared at some corner of a table. Suddenly and immediately in a great fit of rage he flipped the ashtray onto the floor, letting it smash into dozens of pieces. "I"m sorry Mr Snide, but your sovereignty is rather less important than the free travel of commercial shipping! Now I'm sure that you would very much like to control the trade of Havenic cakes yourself, but its far more sporting to allow everyone else some of the cake from time to time!"

When somebody paused to interrupt him, he gave them a flat and blunt shut up and continued with his rant. "Evidently the Rosdivani idea of freedom is that your Government can do whatever the bloody hell it likes within an arbitrary amount of water that it claims. Now until such a time that you can understand that sovereignty must bow for freedom and not the other way round, I do believe that there is a bakery down the street!" His cheeks were getting redder by the moment..

"And as far as I'm aware, being forced to pay a sum of money as a penalty for profitable routes of shipping or else be compounded and possibly thrown in jail or else banned from those lanes again is not in the slightest a 'peaceful transit!' If any signatory to this treaty can ignore its basis for the purpose of 'rights and duties' then there will be very little point at all for anyone to sign it!"

Probably Wheeling would later regret his outburst, but he had been used all his childhood to getting his own way, and as Sea Minister of His Majesty's Government was generally used to get his own way, too. As the old saying goes; hell hath no greater fury than a Questarian diplomat scorned.

OOC: Didn't get this before, mind if I jump in?

IC:
First Sea Lord Gordon Howe had remained silent for the duration of the conference, but now decided to speak up. Adjusting the jacket of his dress uniform, he stood and began addressing the assembled collection of admirals and diplomats before him.

"I wish to address a concern which I have not seen addressed as yet. As you all no doubt know, the islands of the Shansekian Kingdom span the entirety of the Haven Strait, or nearly so. As such, the Shansekians would be able, through their right to territorial integrity, bisect Haven to any whom they do not wish to pass. While I believe they would have every right to do so, should they so choose, I also believe that wherever possible, trade should not be impeded. Therefore, I have a suggestion to bring to the floor: that the Shansekian government demarcate one of the numerous passages through it's islands as being international waters, so as to allow trade to pass regardless of Shansekia's affiliations with the individual nations.

"Furthermore, I believe that the terms "smuggler" and "pirate" should be defined as such: a smuggler shall be defined as any attempting to import a product which is illegal in the nation it is being imported to, or attempting to evade an embargo enacted by either party. A pirate shall be defined as any vessel engaging in hostile actions against another, under a flag not known to be of any nation within our world. Do any of my fellow delegates wish to comment?," he asked, before sitting back down.

Mr. Snyder smiled, his thin lips paling with the smirk. "It is good to see whose interests you are truly here on behalf of Sir Wheeling, though I did not think you would be so quick to do so. Not those of your citizens, though that is what your position entrusts you with, but rather, those of corporations. I must confess, I find it quite hard to believe that someone of your presumably extensive government experience would be so completely ignorant of the meaning of sovereignty. I also find it odd that you think that the freedom of your merchant sailors to sail where they please trumps the freedom of an entire populace to control their sovereign territory. Surely the Shansekian people, for instance, have a right to derive income from permitting the passage of shipping through their territory. Or does Questers prohibit the owners of private roadways from establishing tolls upon them, to make the analogy?"

"I do agree, however, that arbitrary claims are of their nature absurd and ought to be rejected, and so I motion that the next order of business after the discussion of the current article before us, that of the right of innocent passage, we ought to take up the question of what an appropriate claim for Havenic territorial waters may be."

Once Again, Comsr. Goldman leaned forward, tapping ashes off her cigarette and coughing painfully "Mr. Howe those are exactly the sort of problems Mr. Wheeling's proposal should address, though Mr. Wheeling seems to engrossed in his attack on Mr. Snyde's perfectly reasonable proposals to say so himself." She paused to light another cigarette off the last on and take a draw, exhaling slowly until she's interupted by another cough. "Speaking of which, The both of you need to smarten up, this is an international conference with far reaching consequences, not a dick-waving competition, While I would like nothing better than to be able to accept a simple mutual defense of shipping act, we must recognize that the world is not so simple. A Force Majeure exception I think we can all agree on, it's the tollt hing that has you gentlemens' panties in a knot..." She coughs again painfully, and raises her handkerchief to her mouth briefly, putting it away when she's done and ignoring the flecks of red. "Excuse me, but I think a reasonable compromise can be made on the level of tolls that can be levied and the consequences for avoiding them, As I said earlier, and as Mr. Wheeling so forcefully re-stated, such an amendment without limits undoes the whole thing, But if we can agree that such tolls should not be prohibitive or otherwise excessive, and that the consequences for not paying should not be unreasonable or overly egregious, then we can have an acceptable clause and move on to other things." Natalie leaned back gingerly and continued puffing on her cigarette.

Wheeling blinked. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that. He had just been told to 'smarten up', the meaning of which he wasn't entirely certain of, and by little more than some upstart Mondothian woman! He could feel his blood boiling and his tongue was just about to roll out of his mouth to make some form of sandwich comment when it retracted itself. No. Best not. He intended to be quite the womaniser later on. Such was the way in which Questarian diplomats conducted themselves.

"We are never going to agree on what is punitive for a toll and what is not," he said, much calmer. "So it begets us to choose the most dependable of options, that being no toll whatsoever, does it not? If agreements on limitations can not be reached there is no reason why we should expend our energies on imagining them; better that we agree on no limitations whatsoever!"

He neatly took the Gurguvii (sp :() flag that was sit on its pedestal next to him and sat it down on his own part of the table. "I do hope you aren't intending to use this any time old sport." Wheeling said smiling, and proceeded to use the astonished Thalhammer's little flag which had once stood proudly next to the 'GURGUVUNGUNIT' sign on Thalhammer's part of the table as an ashtray, continuing the process of refueling his pipe.

The Duke of Abbingdon stubbed out his cigar. At twenty-nine, he was the youngest Minister in the Cabinet and the youngest Director of the Board of Trade in history. He had listened with cautious hope and a pinch of frustration as the Questerian representative as good as proposed to have a treaty with no clauses - no defined territorial waters, no defined limits on foreign warships...

He had listened with somewhat more enthusiasm to the Allanean proposals for free passage of merchantmen, but now - he withdrew his gold pocket watch from his waistcoat - just a half hour or so after the conference had begun some boorish man had started ranting about 'Big Business' and corporate privilege. Where was he from? The Duke could not quite place the man's accent. Anyway, the slimy bugger would have to be handled carefully before the conference descended any further towards what he imagined it would be like to be trapped in a lift with the Socialist Workers' Party debating team.

"Sir, Mr -," he looked down at the order sheet, "Snyder.

"I do not believe there is any disagreement on the purely legalistic ammendments you have proposed, but the allowance of levies and tolls would entirely emasculate the proposal. Any country that so pleased would be able to exempt themselves from their supposed treaty obligations simply by raising an infinite toll - or some sum whose difference in practise from infinite is not significant. What's more, any toll at all undermines the intention of furthering free trade and peaceful commerce between Havenic powers.

"Of course allowing ships to pass freely inhbits the extent to which signatory governments may act arbitrarily. Indeed, this is the case for any treaty agreements between states. It seems somewhat odd that you would use this as the lynchpin of your argument when you yourself previously lambasted the Questerian delegation for not wanting to agree specific limits on territorial waters. I am sure this is oversight rather than duplicity, but what it means is that, like the territorial waters proposal, this must be decided on its merits.

"The Allanea proposal makes allowance for free passage only where, and I quote, "it does not stop at its ports, nor discharge cargo or personnel to land on its soil". In other words, when the ships make no imposition upon the waters through which they pass. Tolls would therefore be entirely unjustified on the basis of recouping costs to the taxpayers of the relevant nations. Now, while Rosdivan may see a vital role in government stopping the, err, 'big corporations,' if you will, from selling things too cheaply or passing too freely, this is clearly not a view shared by the majority of Haven states.

"I would propose, therefore, an opt-out that allows the opting-out state to levy tolls upon ships passing through their waters, up to a maximum Crown per Tonne limit, and in consequence allows all other signatories to levy similar tolls upon the ships of the opting-out state, if they so choose.

"It would seem to me that this provides an ideal compromise. Those nations, such as Rosdivan, that do not endorse free trade and do not wish to engage so fully with the rest of the Havenic community as others may choose to act as they wish, while those nations which wish to go further with free trade and open borders may also do so."

“Dear Mr Snyder.” - Monningham began - “Of course, your people have the sovereign right to establish taxes on import – horribly screw them over with a spiked steel dildo as it might – but I remind you that the point of treaties is that your people – through you as their representative – will sign a deal to agree not to do something in exchange for a reward. To use your analogy of private roads, a fellow may choose to allow another fellow to travel freely upon his road.”

“Now, I think the idea of Havenic free trade is solid. It serves not only Questarian corporations – by the way, since when is there something wrong with corporations? - but also all people in Haven. But it seems there's opposition to this notion. Perhaps the notionso f the Praetonian and Prestonian representatives can be adopted? I for one am in agreement with these wonderful compromises.”

“Now, would it be possible for one of the dipomats here to help us reach a formal wording?”

OOC: It would actually read 'GURGUVII FEDERATION', but that's not important.

Thalhammer watched with mounting surprise as a group of apparently sane and mature individuals sniped at each other around the table. The Mondothian woman appeared to have some terrible bronchial illness and was taking out her distress upon the Questarian, the Rosdivani seemed to be oblivious to the actual discussion and was using the forum as a soapbox, and the Allanean was making references to spiked dildos.

And then there was the Questarian, whose goal appeared to be to insult everybody at the table repeatedly. Thalhammer blinked as the aged man snatched his national flag from the stand near Thalhammer's own seat and proceeded to use it as an ashtray. The Gurguvii stifled his outrage, stood and walked over to beside Mr. Wheeling, whereupon he picked up his flag between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.

"Actually sir, I had planned to use it as a prop with which to accentuate my points, like so." During the preceding sentence, Thalhammer had given his flag a slight wave according to the emphasis placed on each word, ignoring the flecks of ash that fell from it. "As Ms. Goldman said, it beats using one's penis." He returned to his seat, shuffled some papers, and replaced the flag. All the while, he entertained the simultaneously disturbing and amusing image of the Questarian and Rosdivani delegates waving their turgid members about and shouting 'free trade' and 'protectionism' respectively. Banishing the image, Thalhammer looked at Monningham.

"For what the Federation's views count, I'd fully support the honorable gentlemen from Praetonia and Prestonia. Hopefully we can move on without further excitement, hmm?"

"Perhaps the good duke has left his hearing aids at his home. Or does Praetonia speak a broken form of the English language? For in Rosdivan, when one refers to 'appropriate tolls', tolls that are grossly out of proportion, such as an infinite toll, are obviously excluded from consideration," drolled the Sub-Minister. "It's quite intriguing that, despite being an ambassador for a maritime nation, you are ignorant of the expenses involved with the transit of traffic through ones waters. Especially in congested waters, there is quite the issue with traffic control as well as the necessity of maintaining a proper coast guard to inspect those vessels that transit and to respond to emergencies. Should a heavily trafficked channel be shallow, there may be extensive dredging work required to permit the continued passage of deep draft vessels. Lastly, it is only right and just that nations who are located in a strategic location be permitted to profit from that."

Taking a sip from a glass of white zinfandel at his place, he proceeded to change the subject. "Should the Shansekians find it acceptable, the Commonwealth sees no issue with the proposal from the Prestonian delegate and such would form a reasonable basis and precedent for discussion with other states that hold commanding positions on the sea traffic of Haven."

The king raised his eyebrow, enjoying the humorous situation. What had once been a peaceful negotiation had already descended into the name-calling and...spiked dildos.

"May I interject?" questioned the king.

"First of all, I do not see a point of granting international waters within my nation's islands. If I my nation was at war with another, for example, I could simply fire from within my waters, or the international waters."

"Shansekia does not maintain any hostilities against foreign nations, and if it does descend to that, I can myself pledge to never intercept foreign trade until an actual state of war exists. At which point, I will of course seize trade ships."

"As for the smuggler and pirate definitions, I wholeheartedly agree with those."

"Now for the Rosdivan. I will NEVER, repeat, NEVER, charge tolls on ships passing through Shansekia's waters." King Yusuke's voice raised slightly and spoke with a tone of anger, which was unusual for the king. "Simply because my nation is in a strategic position does not mean I will charge tolls! Doing so is the very foundation of 'fair' trade, which I will not tolerate."

"If the Rosdivan wishes to charge tolls on transit through his nation, then I do not see a point in his nation signing and ratifying the treaty. Not everyone here must sign the treaty for it to be useful."

Abbingdon winced slighty at the tirade of poorly formed insults from the Rosdivani. In no civilised country could this horrid little man become a parish councillor, let alone a national diplomat.

"Sir," he began, lighting another cigar, "while your own particular form of 'English' may lack subtlety, in the civilised world 'appropriate' is eminently flexible. Suppose, for instance, that one believed it to be in the national interest to reserve national waters solely to national merchantmen. In such a case, an infinite tarrif would be eminently 'appropriate'. The purpose of this treaty is not to maintain and justify the status quo - an anarchic interplay of unilateral national policies - by making provisions as flexible as the human imagination, but to establish a clear and precise maritime order for Haven. Your proposals fail utterly at this goal.

"Your other comments are more sensible, but still fail to gain ground. There is no more reason why passing merchantmen should pay for police than should tourists in foreign countries - in both cases, the costs are reasonably expected to be reciprocated when one's own pass through the policed area. Moreover, in the naval field particularly the costs of policing can be funded by the sale of confiscated goods and ships that are found to have actually breached the law.

"Traffic control and dredging is entirely beside the point. No one is demanding that countries pay to accomodate foreign merchantmen - only that they allow them to pass unimpeded where they are allowed to do so. Vessel traffic control is used only at ports, and these proposals do not include ships intending to dock at ports. If you wish, a clause could be added that permits countries to ban the passage of through-traffic past busy ports in a manner in which they might be obstructive. That, however, is the extent to which your arguments justify change.

"The majority of Haven simply does not believe that it is 'right and just' - or desireable for the promotion of prosperity and peace amongst the Havenic powers - that governments should be allowed to levy taxes on peaceable through-traffic simply because of where they happen to be located.

"It is particularly odd as Rosdivan does not control any 'strategic locations,' while the opponents of this sort of protectionism - Praetonia, Questers, Allanea, and so on - control a great deal. If Rosdivan is not willing to agree even to an opt-out system, that gives her exactly what she wants with regard to her own territory, then she should 'go it alone' and abstain entirely from a treaty on which there seems not to be any scope for agreement between Rosdivan and the other potential signatories."

"Your Majesty," Thalhammer said, with a nod to King Yusuke, "I do not believe that the intent of Lord Howe was to insinuate that your policy was to dictate travel within the Straits of Haven. While I am personally not wedded to the idea of an international strait within your territory, and am sympathetic to your opposition to it, allow me to submit the following." He took a moment to construct an appropriate wording in his head, careful not to offend the Shansekian monarch.

"One day, although I pray not soon, Your Majesty will inevitably pass away, and your heir may not see things in the manner that you do. Subsequent governments of Your Majesty's kingdom may take much more protectionist measures than the current one, and I believe that Lord Howe's proposal–if he will permit me to speak for him, as it were–is motivated by concern over what future monarchs and governments of Shansekia may do, rather than what Your Majesty intends." He glanced at Lord Howe for confirmation. "Am I correct, my Lord?"

The King smiled. "No need to refer to me as 'my lord', or 'your majesty', for that matter."

"I will not stand for an international passage through my islands. If the clause that allows transit of all trade ships as long as they do not land is approved, I believe the word 'all' includes any potential nations hostile to Shansekia. Therefore, an additional clause specifically requiring Shansekia to allow trade ships through is moot."

The Allanean scribbled something, and then raised his voice.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have come up with a proposal which hopefully will be agreeable to all parties. I have reduced the size of islands eligible for recognized territorial waters – so as to make the treaty agreeable to the needs of the Shansekians, with their islander nation. I also admitted a version of the Prestonian definition of 'smuggler' and 'pirate' into the text.”

“Ladies and gents, here's the last draft. Would this finally be agreeable?”


Maritime Treaty of Liberty-City

1.Any states with territory in the Haven region or directly bordering it are eligible signatories for this treaty.

2. For the purposes of the treaty, 'the Haven region' will be defined as per the map attached in Appendix 1. (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a220/Willink/Haven.png)

3.All nations within Haven shall be required to set definite limits for their territorial waters, which shall be respected and recognized by all other nations in the region. No nation shall set maritime boundaries extending more than 350 kilometers from the coast of any landmass, and and islands smaller than ten square kilometers shall not extend territoriality to their surrounding ocean area.

4. Havenic waters outside the national waters recognized above will be listed as international waters, and no claims on them shall be recognized by the signatories.

5.An unarmed ship under Havenic flag can transit peacably through the national waters of any Havenic state and remain exempt from its laws, provided it does not stop at its ports, nor discharge cargo or personnel to land on its soil, and provided it does not carry the flag of a state at war with the nation to whom the national waters belong. Pirate and smuggler vessels are exempt from the protections of this paragraph.

6.A smuggler shall be defined as any attempting to import a product which is illegal in the nation it is being imported to. A pirate shall be defined as any vessel engaging in hostile actions against another, under a flag not known to be of any nation within our world.

"This treaty is acceptable to the Kingdom of Prestonia, though I believe that the maritime boundary limit should be extended to two hundred fifty kilometers.

The King raised his eyebrow. How had the Allanean written so fast?

"I find this quite acceptable, Mr. Mockingham!" he exclaimed happily. With one hand the king pulled out a metal canister, and with the other a pen. While opening the canister and dumping some rice in his mouth - in front of all other delegates - he popped the cap off his pen. "So hhmm Havemich diplahamunch can mouchmm acmamuamy mork, eh?"

"We believe the 350-kilometer limit is necessary, as it accomodates the honorable Questarians." - said the Allanean as a rapid printer by the podium spat out a copy of the treaty.

Then he signed it with a flourish.

Maverick Monningham, United States Secretary of State

The Halladi Foreign Minister had been largely silent throughout negotiations. The expectations of the Halladi government was that an agreement would likely be an incarnation of the free trade beliefs of most Haven states. Fortunately for them, however, Hallad was not there to fight this -- in fact, Tala Ghazi had been sent there to show Hallad's embrace of free trade with the other Haven nations.

"Hallad is most pleased by the provisions of the treaty, and my government will undoubtedly be pleased with the changes to the boundries. The Halladi state will likely take advantage of the full 350 kilometres." He signed the document. Talal Ghazi, Commissar of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs, the Arab Worker's Republic of Hallad. "I hope this will show the nations of Haven that Hallad is not a backwards, isolated nation, but a member of the Havenic community and an advocate of peace and freedom."

"As the final draft of this treaty contains no provisions for certain principles and practicalities that are, in the Rosdivani view, a requirement, and as the expressed views of certain signatories make it clear that they intend to use the absence of these provisions in a manner unacceptable to Rosdivan sensibilities, we will have no part of this treaty nor shall we recognize any claim by another nation to take advantage of its provisions where they come into conflict with our laws in our sovereign territory."

And with that, Mr. Snyder stood up and left the conference chambers, leaving a half empty glass of wine behind him on the table.

"Well then," Thalhammer said after the departure of the Rosdivani. He slid the glass of wine over to his place, wiped it with the handkerchief that he kept in his pocket, and took a sip. "Hmm, rather good." Uncapping his pen, he scribbled an illegible little blob on the area marked for his signature, dated the page, and passed it back to Monningham.

"Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure."

Liberty-City Convention Hall, Allanea

"Look, I'm telling you I'm the representative for the Aequatian Republic, I work for the State Department," Said Jeffery Archer as he removed a cigarette from his lips inbetween his forefingers while he rubbed the stubble on his chin with the palm of his hand, "Your damned airline charter flight that brought me here sent my luggage and personal effects to fucking Jesslton, for Christ's sake."

Archer would find himself sitting in the lobby, attempting to contact his office back home via satellite telephone for proper confirmation, as he had been sternly denied entry by the building's security. Just as he finished with one call to his assistant in Magna Casa, he looked up to see the Rosdivani representative exiting the meeting chambers and cross through the lobby. "Mr. Snyder, has the meeting concluded already?" Asked the young man as he rose to his feet, "I wasn't aware that things would be wrapped up within a day."

"Same to you, Mr. Thalhammer." chuckled King Yusuke, as he had finished his rice. With one swift motion, he darted his pen over the paper, signing in both Japanese and in a smaller English sub-text beneath.

Mr. Snyder stopped as the young Aequatian asked him about the conference. "Yes, that mockery of a conference is over, having accomplished nothing of any worth or importance. To think I wasted a month sailing to this," he said, throwing up his hands before he continued on to his waiting car.

The Cottish Foreign Minister had sat quiet for the bulk of the discussion, dispassionately observing the so-called civilized statesmen throw petty insults and ditto gestures towards one another while sipping his coffee (it was amazing just how much coffee the foreign minister managed to drink without having to make use of the restroom). After several insults, complaints and bickering back and forth among the delegates and, amazingly enough, some real diplomacy, it seemed that the representatives had managed to hammer out a treaty that, incredibly enough, was acceptable to Cotland. For the most part, that was.

"Forgive me gentlemen," the Foreign Minister spoke at long last. "While Cotland considers the points specified in the preliminary draft as acceptable, my country is also interested in adding a clause concerning economic exclusion zones to this treaty, to prevent insanely high EEZ claims. Cotland was thinking of setting the EEZ to somewhere in the vicinity of one thousand kilometers."

The Foreign Minister looked around to see what the response might be.