Major Outlying Territories (Sun Republic)

The Major Outlying Territories refers to an antiquated acquisition of territory by the Sun Republic. While officially recognised as legitimate, sovereign territory of the Sun Republic, it is not enforced as such as there exists no legal representation for the federal government in either territory. The territories were first outlined in the Treaty of Benson, designed as a measure to assert the Sun Republic as the “most powerful successor state”. As of 2024, the Sun Republic has launched zero expeditions into either territory nor has it established a formal representative site, office, or even signage.

Territories

The term Major Outlying Territories constitutes an easternly and westernly portion of large, uninhabitable arid desert in the Sierra Vista region. A portion of the westernly territory conflicts with the federal boundaries of Fort Huachuca, an Army base stationed nearby. The nation officially recognises each territory as its sovereign right, while failing to maintain any sort of federal control over either territory. It is unknown whether or not any Sun Republic citizen has ventured into the region: federal officers have failed to do so at all. While the Sun Republic actively maintains an Expeditionary Force in which federal officers travel around the neighbouring territories representing the Duskiean state, the force has never established a new territory.

Neglect

While the Sun Republic states that either territory is it’s official sovereign right bestowed to it by the Treaty of Benson, it has never incorporated, drafted laws for, or established a presence in either territory. During an inquiry about the territories, officials representing the Presidency stated that “there are no more than a few packs of coyotes which roam the region”. The neglect of the territories is nothing new. When the Sun Republic was established in 2017, doubts arouse almost from day one about the logistics in not only maintaining control over such a vast swath of territory, but also the illegitimacy it reflects upon the Micronation itself. As a result of such, the government of the Sun Republic hasn’t made an official statement about either territory since 2019, preferring to stay silent upon the issue instead of deleting the territory from itself.

Future

It has been speculated that, upon the expiration of the Treaty of Benson in 2025 that the Sun Republic will move forward with deleting the Outlying Territories in favour of a more centralised, consolidated approach in terms of territorial claims and governance. This is reflected in the nations’ new aspirational policy (see: Duskiea), which prioritises unification with it’s sister nations instead of rapid, Federalisation of new territories.