The Xiomeran government issued a warning to the government of Manabí Rive against pursuing membership in the Union of Caxcanan States (UCS), stating that such a move would “irreparably damage” the relationship between the two countries.
Prime Minister Toquihu, speaking at the dedication of new naval facilities in the city of Axantec, said that the UCS “is clearly attempting to encircle the Empire with an array of hostile nations”, and that Manabí Rive joining the UCS would present a threat too close to Xiomera to ignore.
“Barely a few dozen miles separate Xiomera from Manauia. How could we not regard this as a threat?” the Prime Minister said, using the former Xiomeran colonial name for Manabí Rive. “The UCS is testing our patience, and they will eventually find that it is not limitless if they persist on this course. Manauian membership in the UCS is a red line for us, and we will respond if such an act occurs.”
The Prime Minister issued this statement in response to yesterday’s announcement by the Manabí Rive government that they intend to formally request membership in the UCS, perhaps as soon as the end of this week. The Manabí Rive leadership did not seem impressed with the Imperial threat. “Manabí Rive is a sovereign nation. We are no longer a Xiomeran colony. We take whatever steps we choose on the international stage and will not be dictated to,” Sapa Tanqui, leader of Manabí Rive, said on a radio broadcast.
The issue of Manabí Rive membership in the UCS is especially complicated at the moment, with forty-five Manabí fishermen and their ships still in the custody of Xiomera. Imperial officials have implied that their release is dependent upon Manabí Rive rescinding its plan to pursue UCS membership. In response to that veiled threat, the Manabí Rive government said that it would “not be coerced by threats to hold our citizens hostage.”
Xiomeran officials privately warned DTNS, speaking on condition of anonymity, that if Manabí Rive does join the UCS, that Empress Calhualyana and the XCP may feel backed into a corner and thus lash out. “The Manauians promised us that they would not pursue a hostile course towards Xiomera if we withdrew our forces from their island. It will be seen as a violation of that promise if Manauia joins the UCS, and we all know how the Empress regards broken promises,” one Xiomeran diplomat said.
