Coastal Alliance

"*The coastal nations will not be left behind.*"
—ratat0ing

The **Coastal Alliance** (**CA**; Darian: Костл Алаиэнс, **КA**) is an intergovernmental economic and defense partnership between six member states near the Tiamat Ocean. The current member states are Clerica, Hexipel, Mashuiza, Monsutama, Shawty, and Tokia, all of which have agreed to share their means of production and defend the other members in the event of an attack. The Coastal Alliance was formed on Day 36 with the signing of the Treaty of Shielded Globe, which describes the union as a "multilateral economic and defense alliance" formed in the name of "shared prosperity, protection, and future cooperation". The Alliance was largely in response to the growing hegemony of the UKF.

The current representative of the Coastal Alliance is trailhopper27 of Mashuiza.

## History

### Formation

    On Day 35, Mayor ratat0ing of New Santiago approached the leaders of Mariun, Shielded Globe, and Tokki Town with a draft of what would become the Treaty of Shielded Globe. ratat0ing cited the four countries' "shared history as smaller nations around Spawn Ocean" in his reasoning for the strategic partnership. The next day (Day 36), the leaders of the four nations gathered in a KFC in Shielded Globe to sign the final version of the treaty. The signatories were Mayor ratat0ing of New Santiago (now Hexipel), Governor trailhopper27 of Shielded Globe (now Mashuiza), Duchess Toria of Tokki Town (now Tokia), and Sovereign TheBeardedCleric of Mariun (now Clerica). TheBeardedCleric was promptly elected by the other leaders to serve as the Alliance's first representative.

### Reactions

After the signing of the Treaty of Shielded Globe, Representative TheBeardedCleric stated, "I am glad that another faction has risen on the server. Having small, independent nations working together will surely bring prosperity to all involved and benefit the entire server." The other leaders struck a tone that the *New Santiago Times* called "slightly guarded". trailhopper27 called the new alliance a "required precaution" in order to compete with the UKF. The sentiment was echoed by ratat0ing, who said that "the coastal nations will not be left behind". Toria declared that the Alliance would be a "powerful presence" that would "not be afraid to throw hands", a statement which reportedly raised concerns in the UKF. Escarchaking333, the foreign ambassador of the UKF, reiterated the UKF's friendly stance toward the four nations: "The UKF is glad that there are other countries taking on a similar stance of unity as we have. ... We have already made steps to secure friendly and mutually beneficial alliances with several other countries and plan to continue these friendships in the new age of diplomacy to come."

### Later developments

On Day 52, the Kingdom of Shawty joined the Coastal Alliance as its fifth member state. Triarch TheRigginizer, one of the three leaders of Shawty, cited economic relations with neighboring Mariun as incentive to join the Alliance: "We had some very good experiences with TheBeardedCleric through some trades. With him being quite close to us, we thought it would be a good idea location-wise to join an alliance with him after he had mentioned it some time ago."

Shielded Globe and Hexipel (formerly New Santiago) competed for the rights to build the Coastal Alliance headquarters. Governor trailhopper27 and Hexipellian President ratat0ing agreed to settle the matter with a spleef match, which was played at the New World Arena in New Santiago on Day 55. ratat0ing won the game, earning the right to build the headquarters within Hexipel. The facility is planned to be built in the Hexipellian capital of Bereza.

On Day 71, TheBeardedCleric resigned as representative of the Coastal Alliance, citing other responsibilities. ratat0ing nominated Toria to replace him, but she declined the nomination and suggested trailhopper27 instead. Without objection, trailhopper27 was confirmed as the second representative of the Alliance on Day 72.

Monsutama, led by King RNGamer, formally requested membership in the Coastal Alliance on Day 108. Monsutama became the sixth member state of the Coastal Alliance on Day 114, when its accession had been approved by all existing members and RNGamer signed the Treaty of Shielded Globe.

On Day 118, LETO opened the Alliance Highway to traffic. The highway spans 6,700 blocks between New Santiago and Shielded Globe, connecting four of the six member states of the Coastal Alliance.

## Function

### Economic

As defined by the Treaty of Shielded Globe, the Coastal Alliance has two main functions: economic and defense. The economic side of the partnership is outlined in Article 2 of the treaty:

The permanent residents of all member states of the Coastal Alliance shall have free and reasonable access to any and all farms and other production facilities within the boundaries of or owned by another member state.
Member states may ban individual players from specific farms if the state determines that said player has been "unreasonable" in their access. This partnership of shared economies allows each member state to specialize in fewer farms while relying on the other states for other products, instead of each state having to invest in the extensive infrastructure necessary for a wide variety of farms. Member states maintain the Coastal Alliance Industry Database (CAID) to catalog all existing production facilities. This partnership is often credited with allowing the Coastal Alliance to remain competitive with foreign superpowers such as the UKF.

### Defense

The second function of the Coastal Alliance is defense, as described in Article 3 of the treaty:

An attack against one is an attack against all. Should one member state be attacked by another nation or independent player outside of this Coastal Alliance, the rest of the member states shall come to their defense to the best of their abilities. If there is any question as to whether a member state has been attacked, all of the member states may take a vote to decide by a simple majority.
Article 3 has never been invoked, and it is unknown what an actual attack might look like. The defense clause is often seen as less of a function of the Alliance and more of a deterrent to future conflict.

## Membership

There are currently six member states of the Coastal Alliance, four of which are founding members. All of the current member states are located on or near the coast of the Tiamat Ocean, though this is not a formal requirement of entry. Article 5 of the Treaty of Shielded Globe stipulates that, in order to join the Alliance, candidate nations must sign the treaty and be unanimously approved by the existing members. Informally, Alliance members have requested that prospective nations provide a national flag and information on the nature of their government to be admitted.

Additionally, member states may revoke their membership "at any time without approval from the other member states", according to Article 6. However, their readmission would be subject to the same requirements and process outlined in Article 5. Member states may also be expelled from the Alliance with unanimous approval from the other members, according to Article 7. No member state has ever left or been expelled from the Coastal Alliance.

### List of member states

1. ↑ February 7, 2022
2. ↑ February 6, 2022
3. ↑ February 7, 2022
4. ↑ February 23, 2022
5. ↑ February 26, 2022
6. ↑ March 14, 2022
7. ↑ March 15, 2022
8. ↑ April 26, 2022
9. ↑ April 30, 2022