Da Silva skimmed through the agreement and with a smirk said:
"With all due respect, Miss Hall, but I fully concord with Señorita Valdez. You see, should we recognise the monarch of Bretonia as the sovereign of Taus, then it de jure gives Bretonia claims on all Taus in the future. We do not doubt your diplomatic intentions behind this move but we also cannot vouch for the generations that will replace us. Our point here is to build a lasting partnership and peace - I bet neither Bretonia nor Malta is interested in continuous rivalry, we both have enough problems to sort out even in the post-war time. Hence, giving a legitimate casus belli for Bretonia for all of Taus is not something Malta is interested in. Therefore, I suggest following amendments to the Treaty:
Quote:
Basilica Treaty
This Treaty is concluded between the Kingdom of Bretonia and Nation of Malta in the spirit of mutual respect and aspirations for lasting peace between the states, as well as bringing end to Gallic imperialism in the sector.
1. The Kingdom of Bretonia recognizes the Nation of Malta as a sovereign state and the legitimate successor of House Hispania.
2. The Nation of Malta recognizes the Bretonian monarch as the Empress/Emperor of Tau Australis.
3. For the purposes of this Treaty, Tau Australis region is defined as:
Tau 31 system
The part of Tau 23 system lying below A34-CD34-CD56-H56 line
4. The Kingdom of Bretonia recognises Tau 37 and the space of Tau 23 over A34-CD34-CD56-H56 line as part of Maltese territory.
5. The Kingdom of Bretonia recognises claims of Malta over Tau 44, Tau 53 as legitimate.
6. The Kingdom of Bretonia will not lay claim to the Tau-29 System.
7. The Nation of Malta recognizes Tau-31, Orkney, and Edinburgh systems as the sovereign territories of the Kingdom of Bretonia.
8. The Nation of Malta recognizes the claim of the Kingdom of Bretonia over Roussillon system as legitimate.
9. The mining zone in the C2 sector is recognised by the Kingdom of Bretonia as belonging to the Nation of Malta.
9.1. All Bretonian crown corporations, as well as Gateway and Planetform, have free and unrestricted access to the mining zone, the right to mine its resources without tax and the right to be protected by the Maltese law enforcement.
10. The Nation of Malta has the right to transport supplies to the Cape Wrath Base in the Newcastle System, including Cardamine but not including any other contraband unless specially licensed, as well as to garrison the base with a flotilla sized force of snubcraft, gunboats and commercial vessels. The Maltese garrison has the right to ask the local Bretonian law enforcement for help if unable to fend off the danger themselves.
11. All Bretonian law enforcement ships have unrestricted access to the entire Tau-23 System, including capital ships.
12. All Maltese law enforcement ships have unrestricted access to the entire Tau-23 System, including capital ships.
13. The law enforcement of either of the sides to the Treaty may pursue criminals or enemies from their own zone, but can otherwise only fire in self-defense or in defense of another Bretonian or Maltese vessel while in the other's zone.
14. No modular bases built in one zone of the Tau-23 System may deploy weapon platforms in the other.
15. The Tau-23 star belongs to both the Kingdom of Bretonia and the Nation of Malta, and may not be subject to action of either without the other's approval.
16. The Kingdom of Bretonia obliges to provide aid to the Nation of Malta against the Crayter Republic, should the Crayter Republic endanger the stability of this treaty, if possible overtly and aggressively, and if not, covertly, after the Kingdom of Gallia has been defeated.
17. The Nation of Malta obliges to provide aid to the Kingdom of Bretonia against the Crayter Republic, should the Crayter Republic endanger the stability of this treaty, if possible overtly and aggressively, and if not, covertly, after the Kingdom of Gallia has been defeated.
18. The Kingdom of Bretonia recognizes that all Independent Miners' Guild assets in the Taus, including those in the Coronado System as well, but excluding those in Tau-31 and Orkney, rightfully belong to the Nation of Malta.
19. The Nation of Malta recognizes that all Independent Miners' Guild assets in Tau-31, Orkney, Newcastle and Dublin rightfully belong to the Kingdom of Bretonia.
20. This treaty is valid indefinitely, but it will be open for re-negotiation should the participants request.
Signatures:
The Kingdom of Bretonia:...................______________________________....................................................................... The Nation of Malta:
"Let me explain my amendments, esteemed representatives. First and foremost, with the raised concern as to the vague formulation of "Empress of Taus" I suggest adding a proxy term "Tau Australis" that would include for Bretonia the same territories as provided by the Treaty in question but devoid of vagueness that might give a rise to problems in the future. As you can see, all your rights are reserved in this version of the Treaty, and our interests of no possible laying claims over Northern Taus based on this very Treaty
are also observed. In addition, I went further and instead of laying down "claims" of either of the sides, I changed the wording to include some of the systems as the "sovereign part" of the parties. I see no reason why Bretonia should "claim" Orkney, Edinburgh, and Tau 31 while these territories are rightfully Bretonian. Same I can say about Maltese presence in Tau 37 and Northern Tau 23. The rest systems are better left alone with the formulations as "claims" not to raise unnecessary diplomatic commotion as of now with other factions."
Da Silva sat back in the chair, waiting for the reply of the representatives and making a sip of spirit in his glass.