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Region: Saint Helene
SR RP
SBS Channel 2 - Special News Report (LIVE!)
"𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘋é𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦": 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰-𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯
(...) Carrying on. Reactions to yesterday's shocking announcement are still coming in on social media as the Foreign Office is both praised and under fire at the same time. Many online forums are split as to whether or not the talks should continue, as although a small majority of Solarians agree with the premise of a reduction in tensions, many remain skeptical of any type of agreement with them, given their villainous actions. This culminated in a protest outside the Solarian Capitol last night, exacerbated by the comments of both national and foreign leaders, especially those of President Su Yunru, who has now become a rallying point for those expressing anti-treaty sentiments. Reports of violence, such as the case of a Merilian war veteran allegedly throwing a brick at the car of the Britannian ambassador to the ASSN as he was arriving at a press conference, have remained "isolated cases", Nova Terran Police say.
Secretary Adam Johnson, head delegate during the meeting, came out with the following statement: "I want to make it extensively clear that this was a set of discussions, not any agreement or official accord. (...) We are just laying down the groundwork for future talks." He also clarified that "(...) the Alliance would not decide on behalf of any of its allies, and wouldn't sign any clauses concerning other nations without their consent first." This comes after detractors claimed that the Foreign Office intended to sell out Merilia and Fletteland, thus undermining the position of the Federal Government and the SAF. We now turn over to our reporter on Upper Street, who is covering James Bell's speech.
The TV screen splits into two halves, as a video feed of a SBS correspondent with the First Representative's residence appears. She takes over the talking:
Good evening, everyone. The First Representative has so far echoed the same sentiment as in Johnson's declaration following the talks, in that the terms are non-binding at the minute and would have to be discussed with our partners first. Furthermore, he also upheld his long-declared policy of refusing to negotiate with the League directly, as he said that the negotiations would not have gone through had they not been carried out through a third party, referencing the Five Kingdoms. Besides that, he also gave a nod to Beiguojian comments on the situation, appreciating their "hardline commitment to the SSTO" but also saying that it was "too early" to make a definitive decision for or against an agreement, claiming a flexible approach is the best approach. Bell also strongly denied any allegations that he or his government would sell out the Interdemocratic Front, which he named "the only legitimate authority" in the Merilian region.
The news feed cuts back to the studio as the anchor resumes his talk, this time panning out more widely throughout it, revealing the presence of a guest.
Thank you, Gillian. We have with us today our senior political commentator, Robert Baker, who has been closely following the proceedings in the last two days. Mister Baker, how do you feel about the Alliance's position on this matter? How do you think the rest of the world will respond? And what does Britannia gain from all of this?
The invitee, a well-dressed, somewhat aged yet articulate man, gives a nod as he begins:
Well, I think we have to first start with what spurred all of this on, that being that the Five Kingdoms are preparing an exit strategy from the SSTO and they're trying to make sure that doing this won't weaken their position. So, by reducing aggression between the SSTO and the League, they hope that they can benefit the most from the situation and keep all of the economic benefits of free trade but also those of security in the Far East. This is an... interesting position, compared to their previous policy of total neutrality. It's in line with everything else they've done so far, but I think this allows us to see a flaw in their foreign affairs approach in general: they're in denial about the objectives of both alliances. The SSTO wants to protect democracy and further it where it can, the League wants to do the exact opposite. Those two things just don't go together. Now, could this détente help things in the short-to-mid term? Very much so! But this peace will only last so long, in my opinion.
That said, there's a lot left to iron out in this deal. Primarily the Flettish clause, because it's terribly vague and neither the Jenovachi nor even the Flettish themselves will feel comfortable with how lacking it is. What the Foreign Office is trying to propose as a patch to this - to negotiate the Flettish clause at a later date than the rest of the clauses - is probably the only way that things will not get slogged down. Now, for the rest of the clauses, the Merilian one has potential, it just depends on how each side interprets it. There's space to try and skirt around it, but with an already-existing blockade in the East being augmented by a new fleet of SSTO ships moving toward West Merilia, I would say the walls are closing in on the Cadetists and the level of support they can get. This deal might be the final nail in their coffin - which, sounds premature, yes, especially when we don't even have boots on the ground in Kripsk or the like - but strategically speaking, it'd amount to a total cut-off for them.
The Wardish point is interesting. If the League were more active in utilizing the ICPJ, it wouldn't even have popped up during these discussions in the first place, but for now, it looks like only the Alliance and some of its partners are interested in building an international, rules-based order. Other states are just using it as a wedge to advance their own goals, rather than promote an overarching project. That said, having League officers rotate in with the monitoring group isn't that bad of a concession, although I am sure some commanders from the 2nd Cavalry would have a few "nice" words to share with them once they arrive.
I don't think any SSTO member-state likes the idea of splitting up continents as "bases" for each alliance, but that's the reality we're already in. It's just that no one wants to say the quiet part out loud. As for assassinations or sabotage... if we reach the point where alliances are putting hitmen on enemy leadership, then clearly we're already past the point of diplomacy. That's all for now, Andrew.
The presenter thanks his guest, as the camera pans back to the initial angle the story started on.
And now, onto other news. The Valiance-class Outrider has just had its first sea in the Emerald Ocean today as talks go about expanding a new set of orders for it...
