Ortego islet dispute

The Ortego islet dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between Daxia and Kiravia over the artificial islet of Ortego. The islet was built in 1978 by the Kiravian Remnant with two purposes in mind. Firstly as a possible bolthole for high ranking members of the Renaissance Party and secondly as a way to section off a large triangular area between the Sea of Orixtal and the Polynesian Sea for oil exploration. The other two points of the triangle were to be Sarolasta and Seváronsa. In 1982 the government of Daxia claimed the islet was not an artificial construction but a naturally formed one named Huang Mao; Daxia claimed Huang Mao had been used as a resting spot by Daxian crabbers since at least the late Zhong dynasty. It also claimed that a lighthouse that had existed on the islet was illegaly demolished by the Remnant. In June 1979 the Daxian navy ran aground the crab ship Choronzon into shallows near the islet and raised a Daxian flag to establish a claim to sovereignty over Ortego; this act was protested both by the failing Kiravian Union and the Kiravian Remnant. Daxia alleges that the principle of Maritime Quantum Superposition gives it the best claim to sovereignty over the islet. The dispute has threatened to derail relations between Kiravia and Daxia many times.

Background
As part of its drive to shore up its finances and economic independence, the Kiravian Remnant under the Renaissance Party moved to develop new domestic sources of energy. Preliminary exploration of the seas near the islands Sarolasta and Seváronsa were optimistic in finding oil and gas deposits. Other than Sarolasta's and Seváronsa's exclusive economic zones, the rest of the area in question was decidedly international waters. To ameliorate this and increase the zone available to exploit, the Kiravians made plans to construct an artificial island and use it to claim sovereignty over nearby waters. The position of this sea artifact when taking into account the other two islands would create a triangular zone of control and surveillance. It was also planned to build a secret facility on the island for the top leadership of the Remnant in the event that the other territories under its control fell to a surprise Kirosocialist assault. While the plan was flagrantly against international convention, the leadership of the Remnant saw its economic survival as paramount to the fight against communism and therefore any objections against it were superfluous and easily pushed aside. The plan and islet to be built were given the code name Ortego .

For its part Daxia had long held designs to expand its influence to the northern reaches of the Ocean of Cathay. When they learned of the Remnant's plan from an intercepted codified call, a plan of action was put into action. The Daxian plan was to wait until construction of the island was underway, then they would send a vessel carrying troops to the islet to take it over. Faux documents were forged to be used in a case at the League of Nations were it would be argued that the island was a territory long held by Daxia and that the Kiravians were infringing on their sovereign rights. All of the plan hinged on effective control of the territory so on December 1979, thirty Daxian commandos sailed the crabbing ship Choronzon to Ortego. The Daxians proceeded to ground their ship in the shallows near Ortego and forced the Kiravian construction crews to leave at gunpoint. As the construction on the islet was incomplete and open to the elements, only a flag pole was installed and the Daxian flag raised, the Daxian marines made the Choronzon their main headquarters. The response of the Kiravian Remnant was to send the patrol boats KNV Keınutan and KNV Dèukravak to Ortego, these vessels were equipped with high powered beam lights that were directed against the Daxian vessel 24/7 for three days as psychological pressure. As the Choronzon was an unarmed ship, the Daxians responded with small arms fire directed at the lights, which was ineffective due to the distances involved.

The dispute has settled into a pattern of relative predictability in the 2020's, with both parties engaging in low level shenanigans such as 'sovereignty operations' involving civilian vessels, the use of drones for surveillance and harassment, minelaying nearby waters and stunts such as two Daxian citizens landing in Ortego using a hot air balloon and then proceeding to film themselves burning a Kiravian flag.

Daxia
The government of Daxia continues to assert its sovereignty over Huang Mao department through its military presence of the Choronzon wreck; there are currently no civilian inhabitants. In 2026 the Office of Cathay Affairs organized a settlement initiative to 'put boots on the ground' on the islet, seven families were sent to live on prefabricated structures positioned on concrete stilts around Ortego. Four of the seven elevated homes were uprooted during a storm after their stilts collapsed, the inhabitants were never recovered; the surviving families were recalled to the mainland.

Daxian authorities are rumored to have equipped the Choronzon wreck with a functioning and previously unknown 'sonic device' to repel Kiravian attacks, Kiravian sailors report mysterious ear ringing, confusion and hearing loss. Daxia denies employing any offensive devices against Kiravian vessels.

Kiravia
The Government of the Kiravian Federacy continues to claim sovereignty over the islet as Iotakta Ortego (Ortego Insular Area), a province-level entity within the Kiravian Collectivity. Civil affairs related to the islet are notionally the responsibility of the Minor Outlying Islands Bureau of the Maritime Executive, though in practice the Bureau does little more than maintain the island's household registry: As of 2030 AD, there are 103 Kiravian nationals who have registered domicile on the islet, and the Kiravian government often cites this factoid to legitimise its claim. The islet has also been assigned a postal address and mailcode by the Kiravian Post.

The Maritime Cutter Service periodically embarks on "sovereignty assertion missions" to Ortego and attempts to harrass Daxian personnel stationed there with offensive lighting, noise, and (on at least one occasion) odour, none of which have succeeded in dislodging Daxian nationals from the site.