Polynesian Defence Pact

The Polynesian Defence Pact (Oan language: Tamatunu Tomakalou Polanosa) is an agreement among the four constituent members of the Polynesian Union that governs how their militaries will interact. It was signed in early September, 2017, to strengthen the defence and coordinate the military activities of the Polynesian nation. Critics have cited it as an Oan foreign policy agenda and a projection of its imperial ambitions.

Terms of the Agreement

The following are some of the summary or major terms of the agreement.

1. The signatories shall not attack each other.
2. The signatories shall defend each other from attack.
3. The signatories shall coordinate military operations.
4. The signatories shall communicate military activities.

Legal persona

The P.D.P. is NOT an armed forces. It is NOT a body corporate. It is an agreement that is so intimate, to the layman, it resembles a single entity.

Nature

The Polynesian Defence Pact is similar to a confederated armed forces. The Polynesian Union is essentially a confederation, in all but name and legal jargon. But it exudes many of the attributes of a confederation. Although its members are technically independent, they have a relationship that is so intricate and close, that they can be considered to be a confederation. The Polynesian Defence Pact is essentially the military manifestation of the Polynesian Union.

Each country has its own armed forces. It has the right to act militarily, independently of any country. It has the right to declare wars and deploy forces without the consent or advice of any other country according to its own laws and the will of its people. That is in fact, affirmed by the Polynesian Defence Pact. There is a difference, however.

The relationship between the member nations is very close. East Polynesia and Konoa have beeb part of The Oan Isles for centuries, losing and regaining independence over time. They have a very close bond with that country. The Asian Pacific Islands has always had a very strong relationship with these countries, with whom it shares a long history. This shared history and close bond manifests itself in the Polynesian Defence Pact.

This agreement has further implications. This agreement essentially coordinates the militaries of the constituent countries, and defines their missions and imperatives so narrowly, that it can be considered an amalgamation of armed forces, working together to form a single military. That is the reality that is experienced by the terms of the agreement, even though the agreement presupposes otherwise.

Structure

The Emperor of Polynesia, as the head of state of the signatory states, is the commander-in-chief of the respective armed forces of their respective countries. Because he exercises his powers through viceregal officials (in all nations except the Oan Isles), the Viceroys bear much of the load of being commanders-in-chief. This role is a largely symbolic. Due to the fact that the fact that the constituent countries follow a model of constitutional monarchy, the Emperor (or his Viceroys) lack the ability to make decisions or interfere in the work or define the strategies of the militaries over which they are placed.

In this sense, the Emperor of Polynesia (and by extension the viceregal offices as a whole), can be regarded as the symbolic leader of the Polynesian Defence Pact. Real power, however, lies in the hands of the democratically elected governments. The Council of the Union exerts a great deal of influence on the P.D.P. Although the boundaries of this power remain blurry and the full extent of its prerogatives remain untested, it has a storng influence on how the P.D.P. operates.

Because the constituent militaries of the P.D.P. and the Oan Isles is, by convention, at the helm of the structure, the Council of the Union is essentially the supreme command of the P.D.P. It allows leaders of other members, especially the Oan Isles, to exert a great deal of influence on each other. But as each member of the Council of the Union is accountable to the legislative branch of the country he represents, it is the law-making body of each country that influences his decisions, describes his mandate and gives him power or takes it away from him, according to its own laws and interests.

The power to deploy, raise and regulate each armed forces lies with the law making body of the country it serves. In this sense the law making bodies have a great deal of power within the alliance, a large part of which lies with its representative. In this sense there is only one body that is directly established by the Pact and has some limited power over and daily tasks for the Pact as a body.

The Polynesian Defence Coordinating Command is established as a secretariat that has a number of functions. The most important roles are:

• Coordinate operations between constituent militaries.
• Facilitate for channels of communication among armed forces.
• Make recommendations to the Council of the Union and the constituent member nations on military strategy or policy development.

This body is seated in the Oan capital, La Rochelle.

Role

Through executive instructions and verbal agreements among leaders of the member states, the P.D.P. has had an expanded role. Contracts have been entered into among the member states. These contracts have been geared towards moving assets, making purchases and merging companies in such a way that each member specialises in a particular area of the structure:

• The Oan Isles specialises in producing ships for the whole Pact.
• Asian Pacific Islands specialises in producing infantry weapons and ammunition.
• Konoa specialises in producing air craft.
• East Polynesia specialises in producing armour.

This reflects similar arrangements between the three member states of the Staynish-Caltharus Empire: Staynes, Caltharus and South Staynes. Staynes focuses on shipbuilding, South Staynes focuses on aerospace defence and Caltharus focuses on other aspects of the military.

The armed forces of the Polynesia are almost always deployed together in any military operation. They often conduct drills together and fight together. From critical assessment, it seems that The Oan Isles is responsible for naval defence of Polynesia and Konoa is responsible for aerial defence in Polynesia (and the offensive counterparts thereof). The Oan Maritime Defence Force has free licence to operate in the entire waters of Polynesia in defence of the territories of the member states. The Konoan Air Force operates freely throughout the three member states to protect their airspace.

Militaries

The Oan Isles

The land and air components of the Oan Defence Service have been reconstituted as branches of the naval component of the Maritime Defence Forces. This body as a whole forms the military of The Oan Isles. After the signing of the Polynesian Defence Pact, the functions and scale of the land and air components were reduced and transferred to the Islander Army and the Konoan Air Force respectively.

The Maritime Defence Force bears the duty of protecting the waters of the entire Polynesian Union. The policy and plans of the Oan military have been focused on the navy. Its manpower is planned to be expanded from the current 40,000 to 80,000 people. Two thirds of the 50 billion dollar operational budget was sent to the Maritime Defence Service. A procurement budget of 240 billion dollars has been set aside for the past ten years to purchase and revamp naval vessels.

Konoa

The Konoan National Defence forms the defence and armed forces of Konoa. The land and naval components have been reduced and they have been placed under the Konoan Air Force. Some functions of the land force were transferred to the Islander Army and those of the navy were transferred to the Oan Maritime Defence Service.

The Air Force operational budget is approximately 30 billion dollars. The procurement budget of the Konoan National Defence is focused on the Air Force, of 125 billion dollars. It is responsible for protecting the air space of the entire Polynesian Union. The Konoan Navy merely enforces maritime law, maintain sea marks and patrol the Konoan littoral.

East Polynesia

The East Polynesian National Defence forms the armed forces of East Polynesia. The East Polynesian National Defence has a large army. The aerial and naval components fall under the army. The army has a manpower of 135,000 men. It is primarily focused on its armoured divisions. It is deployed throughout Polynesia, using its armoury to defend crucial assets such as ports and air ports, and other major pieces of infrastructure.

Asian Pacific Islands

The Islander National Defence has the largest army in Polynesia. 230,560 men make up its land component. Its naval and aerial bodies fall under its umbrella. It has some of the most formidable soldiers in the world. They are statuesque, highly intelligent and highly advanced marksmen. The Islander Civil War refined their skills and hardened their mettle. They project the power of the Polynesian Union as a whole outwardly.

Doctrine

The Polynesian Defence Pact affirms that the signatories will follow certain rules when engaging in military conduct. This forms part of the ethics of war that govern how war is conducted and is forged with the hope that it will be emulated. The most significant of these rules are as follows:

• Civilians shall not be targeted.
• Civilians shall not be used as human shields.
• No chemical weapons shall be produced, maintained or used even as a deterrent.
• No nuclear weapons shall be produced, maintained or used even as a deterrent.
• No indiscriminate weapons (such as barrel bombs) shall be produced, maintained or used even as a deterrent.
• Opponents who surrender shall not be harmed, but must be taken as prisoners of war.
• Ships that surrender shall be evacuated, and sunk or taken as spoils of war.
• The belligerents shall work to relieve non combatants at the earliest possible moment.