Acirian Hostage Crisis

The Acirian Hostage Crisis, referred to in Aciria itself as The Foreign Manpower Crisis, was an international dispute between Aciria and several other nations, most notably Faneria. It came about as a direct result of the passing of the Foreign Manpower Act in Aciria, which permitted foreign laborers other than Metzettans to be surveilled by their employers and have their legal documents forcibly seized.

International Response

Following media outrage and demonstrations in Faneria and Yonderre, the governments of Yonderre, Daxia, Burgundie, Faneria, and several other nations issued formal protests. The Acirian government did not acknowledge any of these, leading to a decline in its relations primarily with Daxia and Faneria. While Daxia pursued more tactful methodsof diplomacy, Faneria's recent high from the excitement of the Vandarch Canal Crisis contributed to popular demand for a direct confrontation.

Resolution and Fallout

The Acirian Hostage Crisis was a critical point in Fhainnin-Acirian relations, leading to a general breakdown in communication between the two governments. It also lead Faneria to begin pursuing closer ties to Daxia and Cartadania, the latter of which lead to joint naval projects and an overall shift towards pursuing Cartadanian fruit imports over Acirian ones, as the brand image damage of sourcing from Aciria outweighed the greater transport distance in many companies' eyes. In the wake of the Crisis, Acirian news increasingly portrayed Faneria as a major supporter of Montaro rebels. This would later be confirmed in the 2000 International Policy Papers published by the Fhainnin Government, which in part outlined the intent to support a Montaran separatist state as a punitive response towards then-Emperor Sebastiano I.