Polynesian Union
The Polynesian Union is a personal union of the Asian Pacific Islands and The Oan Isles under a the Emperor of Polynesia.
Legal status
The Emperor of Polynesia is the head of state of the Asian Pacific Islands. This position is filled by Oahoanu of the House of Ahua. The position is passed down from father to son (or closest male relative in the absence of male heirs) upon death of the incumbent. Should position be filled by a child or invalid, then a Regent shall be appointed to the position. In practice, the House of Ahua has provided heirs for this position since its creation. The power of the Emperor is vested in the Crown. The Crown is source of sovereignty and authority of the countries over which reigns. The power of the Crown, however is mostly vested in the responsible governments of each country.
The Oan Isles and the Asian Pacific Islands are independent nations. The Emperor is a figurehead over both them, in practice the elected governments exercise almost all the power given to the Crown. The legal implications of the union of the Crowns of these two countries into a greater Crown of Polynesia, outweigh any practical influence that the Emperor can or is expected to play. At most the Emperor has the power to be informed, to earn and to encourage. Given that the Emperor is an Oan citizen who resides in the Oan Isles for much of the year, he has delegated his power to a hereditary Viceroy who acts as the head of state of the Asian Pacific Islands in practice, a position passed down along male descendants of the House of Markka, a position occupied by Markka IV.
Defence
The Polynesian Defence Pact arose out of the union. It facilitates for the mutual defence and non-aggression of the Oan Isles and the Asian Pacific Islands. Through this instrument, the two nations share resources, information and competences. Their respective navies and air forces can patrol the territory of the other country, but must request permission to act on any intelligence and must inform the other nation of any potential threat to its safety immediately. The nations often undertake joint exercises and field joint forces for numerous operations within the waters of the Crown of Polynesia.
Given the superior size, budget and technical expertise of the Oan Defence Force, in practice it carries out the defence of two nations, while the Islander Defence Force is mainly responsible for humanitarian aid, maritime law enforcement, disaster relief, search and rescue and counter piracy, terrorism and poaching operations mostly within the Asian Pacific Islands. The Pact has a total of 14 billion kiribs (13 billion kiribs from the Oan Isles alone) and 103,100 personnel. The Pact is seen as an extension of Oan defence policy, with the Asian Pacific Islands serving as a buffer state against an eastern invasion.
Citizenship
People of each member maintain citizenship of that country and do not automatically become citizens of the other. The Asian Pacific Islands is the only country in which Oan citizens can have dual citizenship. Permanent residents have access to all the rights and public services as citizens of the country in which they reside if they are a citizen of a member nation of the union. This creates broad implications for the demographics and economics of the two nations. Permanent residents can also serve in the other's armed forces, a practice that has allowed Islander soldiers to benefit from training and experience (especially combat experience given the ODF's battle record) in the ODF.
Citizens of both nations have unrestricted travel and it is remarkably easy for citizens or either country to acquire permanent residence. As subjects of the Crown, citizens or either nation are subject to and protected by the legal jurisdiction in which they are accused or a victim of a crime. Through joint courts, civil disputes can be settled, contracts can be agreed upon and enforced efficiently under similar practices and principles.
Economics
The nations maintain a number of agreements. Their currencies are pegged, easily interchangeable and accepted by merchants in the other nation. Moreover, stocks and property denominated in the other currency can be easily bought and sold by customers and suppliers in the other nation. Capital being moved from one country to the other is free of the taxes and bureaucratic restrictions that prevent movement to or from other jurisdictions. The nations also have free trade agreements by which many products traded between then are free from tariffs. Citizens of the other country are free to open businesses and seek work in the other under relatively expedient processes.
The two nations are greatly tied up economically. There is extensive trade and investment. Given the fact that the Oan economy is 13 times bigger and its GDP per capita is 3 times higher than that of the Asian Pacific Islands, there is a tendency of young Islanders to seek work and education in the Oan Isles and expatriate their remuneration to dependants at home. A sizeable portion of Islander income comes from remittances particularly from the Oan Isles. Competition for jobs and the perceived leakage of money from the Oan economy has created some tensions between the people of these countries.
Ethnolinguistics
The Islander people and the Oan people form part of the Polynesian ethnolinguistic family, forming the East and West branches thereof respectively. They are the last surviving members of either branch. Although the Oans are ethnically homogeneous except for a small minority of Noan people in Konoa, the Islander people are deeply divided into similar but distinct groups. Although the Islander language and the Oan language share a common ancestral language, they have evolved so separately that they bear almost no similarities in grammar and vocabulary.
