Two De Facto States, Two Different Standards

Game Discussion General Discussion
1

This post may seem a bit sudden, but this seriously needs to be discussed. Consistency is quality, and quality makes for a good game.

With the new battle pass coming very soon, Gaijin recently announced which vehicles we can expect, and it is, quite frankly, both surprising and very welcome. The main focus of this discussion, however, will be the FIAT 6616 (UB) and the apparent double standards present in-game for this vehicle and its operator.

This topic is inherently political, just like Taiwan’s presentation in-game, but I’ll make it as apolitical as physically possible

The FIAT 6616 (UB) was announced as the main prize for the ‘Do It Yourself’ battle pass, with a controversial real-life operator behind the modification. This operator is the Republic of Somaliland, a de facto state located in the Horn of Africa. This disputed territory is currently in a position quite similar to that of the Republic of China (which I’ll refer to as Taiwan from now on) when it comes to international recognition.

The main issue is the in-game representation, with all Taiwanese vehicles being represented through the lens of the Taiwanese army, while Somaliland is represented through Somalia. While I personally would prefer to see Taiwan represented as an actual nation, preferably as a sub-tech tree within China, its limited recognition is the reason for its current representation, which is fair.

Somaliland, another country with limited recognition, is instead represented entirely through the lens of Somalia rather than its own army, which I find quite insensitive when you consider the history between both nations. While Somaliland is not internationally recognised, it is recognised by at least one UN member state (the State of Israel), just like Taiwan, and should be represented through its own army, like Taiwan is.

Flag of the Somaliland National Army

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It would also be historically inaccurate to label this modification of the FIAT 6616 (UB) as Somalian regardless. ‘Somalian’ refers to Somalia, while ‘Somalilander’ refers to Somaliland. This makeshift modification was developed by Somaliland engineers due to the arms embargo imposed on Somaliland - not by Somalian, Italian, or any other engineers but Somaliland engineers of the Somaliland National Army.

I personally believe the appropriate route would be to replace the Somalian flag with the Somaliland National Army flag while still labelling the operator as ‘Somalia’ (though I’d personally prefer ‘Somaliland’). This would help correct the historically inaccurate aspect of this vehicle while removing the double standard now present in-game. This is also what was done for Taiwan.

  • Change the flag and operator to represent the Republic of Somaliland
  • Change the flag to represent the Somaliland National Army
  • Keep it the same
0 voters

Due to the inherently political nature of this topic, please keep the discussion civil and as apolitical as possible. Thanks!

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Techinically Somaliland does meets the 4 requirements to be a country, with only the recognition and international relations from Israel. With also historical background.

imagen

,

The only argument to be against it, its because it does not have a UN seat, which personally its not obligatory.

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Unfortunately, I don’t think Gaijin cares much about state functionality, which Somaliland performs relatively well in, but rather global recognition and acceptance. My argument for more distinct representation is based on the fact that Somaliland is recognised by at least one UN member state, just like Taiwan, and should therefore receive the same representation rights that Taiwan has in-game. I do agree with everything you said though.

Also, a bit bummed out it isn’t getting APDS as well lol

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Funny the Republic of China didn’t got represented well in WT considering it does had a UN seat and was recognized by many countries including the US and USSR. Also having more history than People Republic of China.

Like wtf is this, planets?? we doing a Pluto to ROC??

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Somaliland is not recognised as a country, and is also controversial

I think they should at worst do what they did with rhodesia, use nation tree flag instead of real flag.

less disrespectful to somalilanders while actually being neutral instead of using the somalia flag

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Just leave it as is.

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Stopped reading right here. SHM.

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What? Are you being sarcastic or something? You can’t really talk about Somaliland and its in-game status without getting at least somewhat political, even if the discussion is based on historical facts.

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That’s actually quite a great idea. Rhodesia was never recognised in real life, and the Hunter FGA.9, the one we have in-game, is obviously Rhodesian, yet represented by the nation it’s home to (that being the British tech tree). Regardless, in my opinion, representing it through Somalia is probably the least appropriate option when compared to the other choices Gaijin has.

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Considering Somaliland is under Somalia, I don’t see a problem with it being under Somalian flag.

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Mainly because the modification is attributed to the Somaliland National Army and its engineers, who were responsible for fitting the UB-16 rocket pod. There’s also that dark period in history between the 1980s and 1990s, which I will definitely not be mentioning since it was pretty gruesome. It’s also a partially recognised state like Taiwan, hence my reasoning for it should having equal representation in-game (through the army flag).

The most neutral route is obviously just giving it the Rhodesia treatment and listing the operator and flag as Italian.

This is all opinion anyway, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion

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independant rhodesia, the one most notable (only other country to declare independance from the british empire too btw) doesnt need to be the one with the flag on that hunter FGA9 as it was initially a southern rhodesian aircraft. but i believe its in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia colours, which is a recognised nation of history iirc.

for nations of controversy i think that what gaijin did, whether intentional or not, for the FGA9 was the best move

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Somaliland wasn’t recognized by anyone for decades until some countries in it’s vicinity became a thorn in you know who’s eye.

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No I’m not being sarcastic.

Stopped reading because politics is not part of the game.

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This isn’t two different standards, for this is the first of its kind in War Thunder.

ROC is a tech tree in War Thunder.

Beyond those inaccuracies in this post…
I don’t know what to think about this, especially since this hasn’t occurred before.
The single white star blue flag was used for a short period by Somaliland… Hmmmm…

The Italian flag might be best as Caernarvon mentioned…

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Standards can be old or new, it’s just the title of this topic, which I purposefully made eye catching without being misleading. The Republic of China (or Taiwan) is also represented through the Taiwanese army and not the nation itself, but it does serve as a sub-tech tree. Additionally, you said ‘beyond those inaccuracies’. I don’t personally think I wrote anything inaccurate. Maybe slightly biased in the opinion of others, but not inaccurate.

This is definitely the most natural method, but I personally would prefer it to be treated like Taiwan in-game. Not explicitly as a nation, but as an army. Representing it through Italy would also be a positive change from what it is now.

Since this kind of opens the door for future ‘nations’ like N. Cyprus, Gaijin needs to set a precedent for how to handle issues like this

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Kosovo and the Vatican aren’t in the UN, and I recognize them, so it shouldn’t make a difference

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I want it to be fully recognized, with the Somaliland flag

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Also Somaliland declared independence from the british the same time as Somalia from he italians in 1960 (being partially recognized by some countries), and weeks after becoming a single nation.