République de Malden Diplomacy Column

The Cartel de Vin has elected Adrienne Durand as interim chairman for the organization. The election was held after Mr. Walker of ION’s public accusation of FROG kidnapping Blanchard, after which the organization declared Blanchard to be In Absentia.

According to board member Quintin Smith, the CdV was deliberating about it’s decision to declare Blanchard to be In Absentia, but the accusation solidified their decision. Durand, who previously was the Chief Security Officer before the civil war and is credited with establishing the contract between ION and the CdV, has announced his intention to ‘[…] closely work with ION […] to find Blanchard and punish those responsible.’.

ION has refused to comment, citing operational security.

ION’s Jack Walker has accused FROG of kidnapping chairman of the Cartel de Vin, Robert Blanchard. Blanchard went missing after an assault on his mansion, during which 48 ION personnel, including Malden Commander Joshua Hall, were murdered, some wounded, two helicopters shot down and several more vehicles damaged or destroyed, as stated by the security company.

Eyewitnesses state that two M1240 MRAP (Mine Resistent Ambush Protected) vehicles breached through the Corton checkpoint (which was, at the time, lightly staffed) and proceeded to head down the main circular highway. According to ION investigators, the trucks then breached the western perimeter wall and forced entry, during which a security detail, placed there to secure CdV property, was engaged by assailants wearing mixed equipment and ‘… flying a BluKing flag’.

Several reinforcement squads were engaged and murdered, along side a helicopter that meant to extract Blanchard but, due to heavy fire, had to abandon the mission. Blanchard’s last known radio contact, during which he sounded panicked and terrified of the situation, apparently was ‘[…] oh fuck they found me!’ before all contact was lost. A single ION vehicle crew survived the attack on the mansion.

An ION helicopter was eventually dispatched over GP territory, trying to engage the vehicles leaving the scene. It was eventually engaged by GP AA and heavily damaged south of La Trinité. It unsuccessfully tried to disengage and went down north west of Houdan.

This marks the third incident between the seemingly opposing security companies in as many weeks. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has mentioned these incidents when asked about Malden in an interview, reportedly saying ‘[…] we can’t have British security organizations play World War Three on an island hundres of miles away. We are investigating measures to deescalate the situation from the Isles, by force if necessary’.

The local FROG chapter has been reached out for comment and will provide a comprehensive answer at a later date.

The UN General Assembly has voted in favor to continue recognizing the République of Malden. The vote took place at 9AM, Eastern Standard Time and resulted in favor of continued recognition of the new regime.

Out of the 193 votes, 106 (54,9%) were in favor, 22 (11,4%) votes were against and 65 (33,7) votes were abstentions. The data is in line with previously stated intentions and relations; EU countries voted in unison to continue their recognition, while Russia - Malden recognizes Ukraine claim to Crimea and voted for a ceasefire - and Israel - Malden recognizes Palestine - voted against.

The most concerning switches were the United States, Republic of Korea, Brazil and India which went from ‘In Favor’ to ‘Against’; South Africa, also part of BRICS, switched from ‘In Favor’ to ‘Abstention’, which leaves China as the sole vote ‘In Favor’ in the economic bloc. The ambassadors to the UN have declined to comment on their decision.

President Trump is seemingly uncommitted to the new regime of the République de Malden. When asked his thoughts about the recent regime change, and if there were plans to establish relations with it, he said the following:

‘Well, look, a lot of people have been talking about Malden. Very interesting place, very small—some people didn’t even know it was a country, but I knew. I knew, okay? It’s south of the Azores—beautiful location, very strategic, by the way. Tremendous wine, I’ve heard. Some of the best cheese, people say. I don’t drink, but I’ve been told. And the power grid components—some very strong components, very powerful.

Now, a lot of people are watching what’s happening there. They’ve had some changes—big changes—and we’re looking at it very closely. We’re talking to people, very smart people. We’re going to see what happens. We want stability, we want good deals.

But I’m not going to say right now what we’re going to do. We’re going to see what the new leadership does. If they’re smart—and I hope they are—then maybe we can work something out. Maybe not. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But we want what’s best for America, and we’ll make the best decision when the time is right.’

The answer comes as somewhat of a shock to international observers; while President Biden, Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party had a similarly uncommitted stance on the civil war in Malden, their diplomatic stance remained in recognition and willing to support the country after the civil war.

Trump, along with ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea, however have made no such promises and, apparently, even regressed the States’ stance by voting Against UN recognition of the new regime in the General Assembly. While the vote has not finalized, it remains to be seen if the Malden will receive any aid whatsoever after the deep USAID cuts made by DOGE spearhead Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The European Parliament has announced that they will continue to recognize the République de Malden. The vote, that took place earlier today, overwhelmingly voted in favor to recognize the new regime, with a total vote count of 659, 488 (74%) votes in favor, 137 (21%) votes against and 34 (5%) abstentions. 60 MEPs did not vote.

The votes against overwhelmingly came from the ESN, conservative political groups and non-attached members.