Decision comes after decades of neutral posturing
By National Political Correspondent Han Min-ji
HWAGANG: This afternoon, the office of President Kim I-seul has announced that Haesan has formally applied to join the League of IDU Nations (LIDUN) after decades of shying away from global international organizations. The decision is a just-in-time measure to align Haesanite accession to the League with the signing of a new formalized charter for the international body. In her statements, she said that this decision was a result of “careful planning,” and that, “If we fail to join now, our global rivals will gain a permanent edge on us in the diplomatic sphere, and the international environment will be less beneficial towards Haesan’s strategic and economic interests.”
Many political experts have commented that this move is also a power play, as Haesan, with one of the largest populations and economies in Hesperida, is well positioned to seek one of the critical fourteen Security Council seats. However, some politicians, such as Deputy Alistair Swain (NHT – Southern Maritimes), the whip of Neutral Haesan Today, are less enthused. In today’s response, he fought back, saying, “This decision to become so invested in international affairs poses a significant risk to the neutrality that has made us a favored tourist destination for the world over. The risk of angering others over these LIDUN negotiations to a position where we might see a boycott is not to be underestimated, and can seriously threaten the livelihoods of some of our constituents.”
The move causes rumours that Haesan may change its informal, aggressively non-interventionist stance that it has held since the beginning of the Second Commonwealth. While military interventions are still unlikely due to the constant presence of mandatory minimum service and the bad optics of sending 18 year old boys and girls to a foreign battlefield, it seems as if Haesan may finally be willing to use its economic circumstances to influence politics rather than its politics existing solely in service of economics.
