7 March 2023
On the 6th of March, the National Assembly concluded the largest session in its history. During this session, representatives were able to vote on twenty-one bills, absolutely destroying the previous session record of seven. The bills covered a multitude of important issues, such as removing the President's ability to fire the Vice President and even the establishment of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Assembly also debated on the annexation of six new subdivisions, all of which were proposed by Minister Cooper Norfolk and extend as far south as fifty-four kilometers south from Port Phillip. Eighteen of the twenty-one submitted bills gained enough support to pass the assembly, including all of Minister Norfolk's proposed territories.
This afternoon, President Renny announced that he would begin slowly reaching decisions on each of these bills. It's likely that he will pass or veto them in chunks of bills that are related to each other over the next week or two. Additionally, he approved of the annexation of Minister Norfolk's six new subdivisions and the expansion of three others. With these new subdivisions, increased its territorial claims by almost 600%. The nation as a whole is just barley smaller than 72 square kilometers, which is larger than the European microstate of San Marino. Below is a list of the new subdivisions and some facts about them:
Rugido
Rugido is a very small island located on the Bellows Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. The island is located roughly two kilometers south of Alta, the de facto capital of the North Hillsborough Territory. The name "Rugido" comes from the Spanish word for "roar". "Roar" is another word for "bellow", signifying the name of the lake that the island is situated on. It's only about 7,000 square meters and, according to Minister Norfolk, will serve as an "important military outpost for the North Phillip Region", which it will be a part of after the Regional Restructuring Act takes effect in April.
Images in order: Flag of Rugido and the Map of the Territory
Weedon
Weedon Island is a very popular tourist destination and nature preserve in Pinellas County, Florida. Phillip has annexed the majority of the island and some of its surrounding woods, totaling to around four and a half square kilometers of territory. The island was annexed in order to allow Phillip to hold military presence in the area. The island will most likely not be integrated into a region and will remain it's own separate territory.
Images in order: Flag of Weedon, the Seal of Weedon, and a Map of the Territory
Sziget
The Sziget Territory consists of an island about six and a half kilometers north of the Weedon Territory. The name "Sziget" means "island" in Hungarian. According to Minister Norfolk, he proposed the island for annexation as he believes that during an invasion of Weedon, the military should be able to invade it as well. The land is also a great fishing spot and is only about three-fourths of a square kilometer in size. Along with Weedon, the island is expected to not be combined with a region and remain its own territory.
Images in order: Flag of Sziget, the Official Symbol of Sziget, and a Map of the Territory
Alafia
The Alafia Territory consists of eleven separate pieces of land, all of which are either groups of islands and plots of land located on or near the Alafia River. The territory was annexed in order to gain control over the Alafia River itself. The territory is only a little bit more than two and half square kilometer in size and will most likely not be combined into a region.
Images in order: Flag of Alafia, the Seal of Alafia, and a Map of the Territory
Csonka
The Csonka Territory is the second largest of the new territories. The territory consists of six separate pieces of land, two of which are groups of islands while the rest consist of marshlands along the Little Manatee River. In total, the territory is slightly more than eighteen square kilometers. The name "Csonka" comes from the Hungarian word for "truncated", signifying the truncated shape of the territory. Similar to the Alafia Territory, the land was conquered in order to gain control over the Little Manatee River itself. Csonka probably won't be combined into a region and remain a separate territory.
Images in order: Flag of Csonka, the Seal of Csonka, and a Map of the Territory
Achtflüsse
The Territory of Achtflüsse is the largest of Phillip's new territories. The island consists of eight different groups of islands on the Manatee and Braden Rivers. Overall, the territory is slightly more than nineteen square kilometers in size. The name "Achtflüsse" comes from the combination of the two German words of "Acht" and "Flüsse". When put together they directly translate to "eight rivers", signifying the fact the territory is located on multiple rivers and is divided between eight enclaves. The territory was annexed in order to establish a military presence in Manatee County, Florida.
Images in order: Flag of Achtflüsse, the Seal of Achtflüsse, and a Map of the Territory
Several other subdivions were expanded to claim an additional fifteen and a half square kilometers. The first of which was the Lukous District, which was expanded by around two-thousand square meters to include a nearby canal. The canal played an important role in the Invasion of Traqueto by proving the 1st Phillip Fleet with access to the ocean to get to Traqueto. The canal is very shallow but has been explored on numerous occasions by Vice President Luke Fitzgibbins. It also connects to a lake that is part of Lukous. The North Hillsborough Territory was expanded to include an extra 1.7 square kilometers of mostly swamp and forests. Below is a map of the new expansions in the North Hillsborough.
An invasion of the North Hillsborough Territory is expected to take place sometime before the 2nd General Election in April. Due to the expansion of the territory, the invasion is expected to take longer and will most likely have to be spread between two days. One day will be dedicated to kayaking down the Hillsborough River and the other will be dedicated two invading two islands that are blocked by a dam in the lower Hillsborough River. Those two islands have been proven to be accessible through a nearby park.
The largest territorial expansion occurred in the Traqueto Territory, which was expanded to claim just shy of fourteen square kilometers. The land mostly consists of forests and marshlands near the island of Traqueto. President Renny passed the bill on the condition that Minister Norfolk would promise to pass a bill two separate the new land claims into their own territory. He believes that the island of Traqueto should remain its own separate subdivision because of the history behind it and how special it feels to him after the military invasion of it, which he participated in. Below is a map of the new expansions.
Overall, today is a pivotal moment in the history of Phillip. The expansion of Phillip's territories can bring a lot of positive things to the table, such as new potential economic growth and an expansion of power in the Tampa Bay Area. The rapid expansion of Phillip's territory will also put to test the nations ability to manage this land and be able to show dominance over it. The Phillip Military is planning on creating seven separate military expeditions in the next couple of months in order to conquer these new territories.