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Jakarta and Manila Begin Unification Talks

For as long as humans have inhabited the Malay Archipelago, so too has the concept of a single unified nation spanning the islands, commonly referred to as Nusantara. Several times in decades prior, this idea has bubbled tontbe surface in Manila and Jakarta alike due to cultural, linguistic, geographic, and ethnic heritage all in common, a unification only has seemed natural. However, with Indonesia spanning a majority of the archipelago, the Philippines occupies the remainder of the islands and has sought to forge out its own destiny separate from that of Indonesia, with policymakers adamant upon an independent Philippines.

With global geopolitical uncertainty on the rise, crises appearing from thin air, and increasingly frequent natural disasters, Manila has begun to formally float the idea of unifying Nusantara. Several polls have been conducted over the course of the last several years in both nations to see where the general population stands on this matter; the findings although somewhat inconclusive, seem to show that the general public is interested in the concept of a unification, but are concerned about issues of national identity, sovereignty, and funding challenges. Despite all this though, a 72% margin of Filipino citizens view unification favorably, with 85% of Indonesians viewing or favorably as well.

With such positive rankings, policymakers in both Manila and Jakarta began initiating debates and discussions within respective chambers or legislature to discuss the merits and potential pitfalls of such a large scale unification effort and what it could mean for each nation. While the world continues on with its squabbles and issues, Manila and Jakarta have officially entered into talks discussing the tentative unification and going over details. Heads of state and various officials met in Davao to begin more in depth talks about this matter. While the results are unclear and these talks are purely tentative, speculations are pointing towards a national unification between The Philippines and The Republic of Indonesia, which would finally see the dream of Nusantara fully realized.

In other news, Jakarta and government officials including the Grand Chancellor have remained tight-lipped on the matter of the recent fraudulent Indochinese elections. While the governments of several Asian Union nations having condemned The Hellenes League for tampering in the elections and called upon the International Cooperation Council to take action against its member nation, The Republic of Indonesia has remained silent on this matter. As of now, there seems to be no indication the national government in Jakarta will change its position this matter, especially seeing as how Jakarta is preoccupied with discussing a unification with Manila.