Factbook of Asian Pacific Islands

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INTRODUCTION[hr]http://nswiki.org/images/thumb/APIFPU.png/188px-APIFPU.png
Illustration I: Official Flag
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Illustration II: Official Coat of Arms
MottoPara sa aking mga tao, para sa aking dagat (For my people, for my sea)AnthemAsul na dagat (Blue Sea)CapitalLinamaLargest cityVadooOfficial languageIslanderDemonymIslanderGovernmentParliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy (personal union)Area45,000km² (17,375miles²)Population2,000,000 (44/km² or 114/mile²)GDP26 billion kiribs (13,000 kiribs per capita)CurrencyAng (Ā)
The Grand Constitutional Monarchy of the Asian Pacific Islands is a tropical island nation in The East Pacific region, on the planet Urth in the Pacific Ocean . It lies to the south west of The Oan Isles . It is an island nation with a tropical climate characterised by a mountainous topography and tropical rainforests. The country has many endemic plants and animals. It has beautiful, warm clear seas. It has a high rate of precipitation. The country forms part of the larger Polynesian geographic subregion. It is affected by ash clouds and Urthquakes due to its close proximity to active geological faults.

The country forms part of the Polynesian Union, by which it shares a monarch with the Oan Isles, however it is a fully sovereign nation with its own institutions. It is a democratic nation with power vested in a democratically elected National Assembly which elects the executive branch. The head of government and leader of a multi-party democracy is the Prime Minister who leads the largest party. The nation has close ties with the Oan Isles as a major ally. The nation’s defence is facilitated primarily by the Islander Defence Force, a relatively small force that primarily handles emergency response and territorial defence.

The country is a developing, upper middle income economy, and has an economy of 26 billion kiribs and a GDP per capita of 13,000 kiribs. The primary export earnings are from consumer goods, fish, wood, textiles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products. The primary imports are manufactured goods and fossil fuels. Many people live in poverty, unemployment is reasonable. Through geothermal power, the nation has reliable access to electricity and has a reasonably developed infrastructure, although the rural areas have issues. The nation is diverse, formed of many subethnic and subcultural groups that broadly form the Islander linguistic and cultural community (the last remaining language group of the East Polynesian language family). The nation is devout with a syncretism of Buddhism and folk spiritual beliefs forming the majority religion.

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GEOGRAPHY[hr]http://nswiki.org/images/thumb/Lilangisda_Island.jpeg/270px-Lilangisda_Island.jpeg
Illustration III: Lilangisda Island, a small mountainous island teaming with endemic wildlife and known for its natural beauty

The Asian Pacific Islands is an island nation, comprised of many islands, islets and atolls, located in the south west Pacific Ocean. It lies to the south east of its closest settled neighbor, The Oan Isles. It has an area of approximately 45,000km². The country has many remarkable landscapes and endemic wildlife, for which it is renowned. The islands were formed by volcanic activity many years ago and remain volcanically active. The stunning geography and lush forests in which life has been allowed to thrive has been attributed mostly to the volcanic activity, but the islands are also geographically isolated. With conditions apt for life, the islands developed many unique animals and plants that are found nowhere else on the planet.

The country has a diverse range of plants and animals. The geography of the country is dominated by tropical rainforests. There are two types of rain forests. There are montane rainforests and lowland. Montane rainforests are typically located at high altitudes. These forests are often cool and sometimes snow and frost can occur. Lowland forests are located at lower altitudes and are subject to warmer weather and snow and frost seldom if ever occurs. These differences have provided for a number of unique plants and animals, some of which found nowhere else in the world to occur. There are trees such as the Manila palm (Adonidia merrillii) which is endemic and has bright scarlet fruit that flower in winter. There are many species of the Barringtonia also known as Cornbeefwood genus that are also endemic. There are also species of the genus Cinnamonum such as the kanginag which produce the spice cinamon. There are also endemic species of the genus Citrus such as the bitter orange. There are hundreds more species among these that are endemic to the Asian Pacific Islands.

The country has a diverse range of animals. There are many primate species such as orangutan, gibbon, Proboscis monkey, macaque and Gray langur. There are also species of large grazing and browsing herbivores such as true buffalo (the most popular of which is the water buffalo as a work animal), Sika deer, blackbuck antelope, the nilgai, and Sambar deer. There are many snakes such as blind snakes, sunbeam snakes, pythons, pipe snakes, whip snakes, flying snakes, cat snakes and reed snakes. There are many amphibians such as the Asiatic tailed Caecilian, true toad (such as Sukumaran’s slender toad, Tioman slender toad, and brown tree toad), fanged frogs, tree frogs and litter frogs. There are bids such as the red vented cockatoo, tree kingfisher, fantails, Rufous hornbill, scale feathered malhoka, Phillipines duck, Sulu hornbill, red keeled flower pecker, Phillipines falconet and Palawan peacock pheasant.

The country has a wide variety of marine life. There are dugongs (large sea mammals that graze on sea grass), sharks, sea turtles, sea horses, cuttlefish, octopus, squid, Wrasse (a massive colourful fish), shrimp (such as the colourful Harlequin shrimp), manta rays, dolphins, and some migratory whales, frogfish, and nudibranches among many more. There also more than 5,000 species of coral. There are sun coral, flower pot coral, Stony coral, Hellfire anemone, Chinese lettuce, branching frogspawn, sea pen, sunburst coral, Fabia coral, Xenia, lace coral, octopus coral, elephant ear anemone, daytime coral, solitary cup coral and thousands of others. The marine ecosystems of the Asian Pacific Island thrive from the shallow warm clear waters and are some of the most diverse and abundant ecosystems on Urth. Their survival is threatened, however by natural phenomena such as storms, Urthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, form which they typically recover fairly quickly. They are also threatened by pollution such as illegal dumping of garbage, chemicals and human waste into the sea.

The climate of the Asian Pacific Islands is characterised as tropical. In some parts of the country it rains constantly and consistently throughout the year. Some parts of the country are affected by periodic dry spells interspersed with long periods of continuous precipitation. It seldom snows except at very high altitudes, particularly in winter months when cold air comes from the Southern Ocean near the southern pole. There are cyclones, large tropical storms which have winds of up to 200km/h. These storms cause severe damage and have caused some loss of life, but the nation has withstood their impact because of adequate disaster preparation. The islands are also affected by ash clouds from volcanic activity as many terrestrial volcanic vents remain active. While these can be a source of geothermal power and they deposit minerals that fertilise the soil, on rare occasions they spew forth ash and smoke into the air. The islands are also faces with large waves such as tsunamis.

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POLITICS[hr]

Illustration IV: Pulangbato Castle, a fortification in the city of Linama that once served as the residence of the Monoherra and now serves as the seat of the government

The Asian Pacific Islands form part of the Polynesian Union. This is a personal union of the monarchies of The Oan Isles and the Asian Pacific Islands, by which they share a monarch, the Emperor of Polynesia. The sovereignty of the nation and authority of the government emanate from the Crown of Polynesia. The Emperor himself does not exercise this power directly, which is divided among and administered by the judiciary, legislature and executive branches according to the Constitution of the Asian Pacific Islands. The representative of the Emperor is a Viceroy who inherits the position by birth as a descendant of the incumbent Viceroy, the former Monoherra, Markka IV.

The executive branch consists of the Council of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister with the consent of the National Assembly. The Council of Ministers executes laws and develops policies. The Prime Minister forms the chair of the Council and the head of the executive branch. The Prime Minister is usually the head of the largest party in the People’s Assembly (the lower house of the National Assembly). The government remains accountable to the National Assembly and can be impeached by a vote of no confidence. The current Prime Minister is Lee Kim, the head of the largest political party in the People’s Assembly: the Islander National Party.

The legislative branch is formed of two chambers: the upper House of Chiefs and the lower People’s Assembly. Whereas the House of Chiefs is formed of hereditary tribal rulers, the People’s Assembly is democratically elected every 4 years by the adult citizens of the nation through party list proportional representation in single member constituencies. The House of Chiefs is primarily an advisory house with some legislative initiative over tribal land and cultural matters, but the real political power rests with the People’s Assembly which appoints (and can dismiss) the government, possesses legislative initiative and decision-making powers. Through his role as the Paramount Chief of the Asian Pacific Islands, the Viceroy acts as the ex-officio presiding officer of the House of Chiefs and presides over joint sessions of the National Assembly primarily (if not exclusively) during the annual presentation of the state of the nation address and opening of the National Assembly.

The judicial branch enforces the law and carries out justice. At the apex of the system is the Supreme Court, the final court for appeals, formed of 5 judges and helmed by the Chief Justice. It is appointed by the government and confirmed by the National Assembly for a life term. As judges are civil servants, they are required to possess professional qualifications and experience, and legal representatives and other officers are treated as the same. In this sense, the administration and management of the judicial branch is carried out by the executive Department of Justice and Police. The judiciary uses statutory law, case law and customary law to mete out justice and settle disputes. The judges have inquisitorial powers, actively participating in litigation.

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MILITARY[hr]

Illustration V: A group of soldiers from the Islander Special Forces in full combat kit

The military of the Asian Pacific Islands is formed of the Islander Defence Forces. The commander-in-chief is the Emperor of Polynesia, represented by the Viceroy. The position is entirely symbolic. Real power to direct the armed forces rests with the government. The National Assembly has the power to declare war, make peace, appropriate funds and raise and dissolve the armed forces. The executive branch has the power to direct, manage and oversee the armed forces. Daily administration is carried out by Minister of Defence. The daily management and operational command is overseen by the Chief of Staff, the highest ranking professional servicemen in the armed forces, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. The military is formed of three branches: the Islander Navy, Islander Army and Islander Air Forces. Their primary objective is to defend the territory of the Asian Pacific Islands. Its secondary role is to participate in peacekeeping, fighting pirates, terrorists and poachers, and conducting search and rescue.

The armed forces has a budget of 2 billion kiribs. This forms a small portion of the annual budget and economic output. This below average spending arises as a result of fiscal constraints and political pressure for the redistribution of military funds to crucial services such as healthcare and education. Political incentive to expand the resources of the armed forces is absent due to other political and economic considerations being more salient, the role played by the Oan Defence Force in defending the Asian Pacific Islands, and training and supporting its forces. The military is primarily equipped to handle issues and threats within the littoral and immediate vicinity of the Asian Pacific Islands. Along with meagre economic resources, there has been no serious attempt to develop an indigenous arms manufacturing sector. Weapons, vehicles and infantry gear are imported primarily from the Oan Isles.

The armed forces employs 17,000 full-time professional combatants. Due to the general absence of civil strife and the remote nature of any threat, conscription is not practiced. All personnel typically receive a year of training at the Islander Military Academy, where instruction is often facilitated by Oan instructors under the proviso of the Military Institute of the Oan Isles. The naval branch is primarily equipped with patrol boats and countermeasure capabilities. The largest ship in its arsenal is the flagship of its fleet, the INS Emperador, a destroyer. It is equipped with one destroyer, two frigates and three corvettes, as well as five large patrol boats, five missile boats and two mine-countermeasures boats. The air force is primarily equipped with rotary aircraft. The army is primarily equipped and trained for urban and military warfare, search and rescue and humanitarian aid.

[The_Oan_Isles]

ECONOMY[hr]http://nswiki.org/images/thumb/Vadoo.png/270px-Vadoo.png
Illustration VI: Aerial photograph of Vadoo, the country’s economic capital

The Asian Pacific Islands has a developing, upper middle income and reasonably diversified economy. It has a GDP of 26 billion kiribs and a GDP per capita of 13,000 kiribs. The largest sector is formed of services (comprising 46% of the economy), industry (comprising 36% of the economy) and agriculture (comprising the remaining 18% of the economy). Agriculture (and related sectors such as fishing and logging) form the largest employer, employing approximately 42% of the workforce while a third of those are subsistence farmers in small family owned homesteads. Most manufacturing, particularly of household products, is done in small family businesses. Exploitative worker practices remain prevalent in larger factories. The unemployment rate is at 8% of the available workforce, a reasonable number given the structure of the economy. Unfortunately, 12% of the population live below the poverty line.

The country has a reasonably well structured and reliable financial services sector. With the absence of financial capital and relatively low savings rates, the only major commercial bank to emerge is the Islander National Bank, a mostly state owned company with some shared freely traded on the Islander Stock Exchange. The country benefits from a reliable online payment network, the presence of private cash handlers, funeral cover, life insurance and retirement savings funds. Along with institutional support from the Islander Central Bank and it’s relatively disciplined management of the national currency, the Islander ang (Ā) and its relative interchangeability the kirib and Oan tara, the financial sector is resilient and robust. The financial services sector is mostly dominated by banks of foreign origin. The country has a well-defined tourism sector. Visitors are attracted by the wildlife and natural landscape and unique culture, and well-developed and affordable accommodation and entertainment.

The largest airport in the country is the Islander International Airport near Linama. The largest port is the Port of Vadoo. Given the geographical limits imposed by the shallow waters, the Port of Vadoo and other smaller ports cannot accept large container ships. The country receives a sizeable portion of its maritime trade from shipping companies from the Oan Isles bringing and taking goods through Oan ports. The country has a well-developed road network although rural areas and remote islands suffer from dirt roads and a lack of bridges. Railway is popular and common, although, like roads, the rural and remote islands are underserved. The country benefits from relative energy security due to its geothermal power which gives almost all people access to constant and reliable electricity all year round. The country has well-developed water management infrastructure with dykes and levees protecting coastal towns and cities and drains preventing flooding. Rice paddies tend to be prone to flooding and landslides due to deforestation.

The Asian Pacific Islands has reasonably diversified trade. The single largest trading partner is the Oan Isles which is both the largest source of imports and destination for exports. Other major trading partners include the United Kingdom and Kuthernburg. The country has 5 billion kiribs worth of exports and 6.2 billion kiribs worth of imports. The largest exports are consumer products, wood, fish, rubber, spices, rice, beverages, fruits, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. The largest import products are motor vehicles, electronics, and fossil fuels.