Gabal
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| Republic of Gabal | |
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 Flag | |
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| Capital and largest city | Coron |
| Official languages |
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| Demonym | Gabalian |
| Government | Parliamentary Representative Democracy |
• Prime Minister | Rodrigo Adeang |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| GDP | estimate |
• Total | $472 million |
| Time zone | GMT +8 |
Contents
Political
The Republic of Gabal is a relatively new democracy, having emerged from colonial rule in 1977. Gabal faces numerous political and economic challenges that have undercut the effectiveness and legitimacy of its government since independence was declared. Tribal politics and colonial scars run deep within the government and often shape political discourse. Issues associated with climate change, however, have largely united the country in recent years, as Gabal, along with many other small island nations, seek to influence global climate change politics. While the government of Gabal seeks to project an image of self-reliance, its enduring economic and security challenges means that it often must look to others for assistance.
Military
The Republic of Gabal’s military serves more as a symbol of the country’s independence from its neighbors than it serves as any true fighting force. Due to its small size, the military possesses little offensive capabilities and poses little to no threat to any of its neighboring countries. That said, Gabal also lacks the ability to adequately defend itself against external threats.
Gabal’s military focuses primarily on domestic issues, and countering illegal fishing and smuggling activities within its territorial waters. As with its economy, Gabal is often willing to accept assistance from any nation that offers it. While its sovereignty is an important symbolic issue, Gabal recognizes that it holds strategically important territory, and it has been known to turn a blind eye to unilateral maritime security actions taken by its neighbors, choosing to passively benefit from the efforts of others.
Gabal’s military may find it difficult to support its entire force logistically if the country activated 100% of its reservists.
Economic
Gabal is a nation that faces significant economic hardship. While it has, at times, been economically prosperous, it is now reliant on other nations for its very survival. Recognizing that it has little ability to influence economic partnerships, Gabal is typically willing to enter into partnerships and agreements whenever it can. That said, climate change has become a serious issue that dominates Gabal’s political landscape and has begun to influence the economic decision making process. Gabal’s economy is currently based in eco-tourism, however it is constantly looking to build more diversity into its economic portfolio and will listen to every opportunity it is presented.
Social
The Republic of Gabal has a strong, complex cultural identity that is consistent among the broader Pacific archipelago. The Gabalian indigenous population consists of numerous separate communities, often consisting of only a few hundred people. These indigenous communities often have their own unique languages, customs, and traditions. Though there are only a few urban areas within Gabal, residents of these areas are being exposed to new external influences and are slowly but surely developing new social practices that sometimes conflict with traditional Gabalian culture.
Information
The Republic of Gabal is a small island in the South Pacific. It relatively recently emerged from years of colonial rule into an independent liberal democracy. Gabal understands the importance of security guarantees with larger allies—primarily the Republic of Torbia—but will readily accept assistance from other foreign countries. The government respects the freedom of speech in media and telecommunications. Most of the people of Gabal in the towns have access to mobile phones, but this is less true in the rural areas. Still, cell phone access is available in many parts of the country. But instead of every child in the family having their own personal cell phone, there is one or two cell phones per rural family.
Infrastructure
The country of Gabal contains a mixture of emerging urban areas and primitive rural villages. Modern utilities are found predominantly in the cities and towns and at reasonable levels throughout the rural countryside. Forty-five percent of the nation has access to electricity with 77.5% of urban areas and 36% of rural areas respectively. Over ninety percent of Gabal has access to potable water, while 100% of the nation has access to a sanitation system, with 60.2% having access to modern sewage systems.
The infrastructure of Gabal is stressed and outdated. Emphasis has been placed on the modernizing of the infrastructure in recent years but it continues to be stressed due to lack of resources. Gabal has a dated mass transit system. Bus companies provide transportation in cities and to rural areas. The country still uses converted WWII vehicles as taxis and mopeds as a means for transportation that release significant pollutants into the environment. Two airports (one with a paved runway) are able to handle smaller commercial aircraft for the entire nation. The one major seaport is dated and can only handle shallow draft ships. The country suffers from high levels of pollution in the rural areas and the government has made policies to combat pollution in rural environments and water supplies.
Physical Environment
Gabal is a small country located in an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. Due to being an island nation, its closest neighbors are Belesia and South Torbia with whom it has friendly relations. The country’s terrain consists primary of forested mountains and low grassy valleys. Both vegetation and climate are tropical in nature. Multiple natural hazards exist, resulting from the country’s geology, weather, native wildlife, and human activity. Gabal occupies a group of more than 1700 islands and islets in the Southwest Pacific. It is part of a larger archipelago that is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south. The country shares only maritime borders with its neighbors, which include South Torbia to the northeast and Belesia to the southeast and southwest. The islands are mountainous in nature, with interspersed valleys on the larger islands. Gabal can be broken into four primary island groups centered on the largest islands: Palawan, Busuanga, Culion, and Coron.
Time
Gabal's approach to time can best be described as polychronic: the tendency to perform several tasks concurrently, as opposed to monochronic like the US, where the preference is to perform tasks in sequence. On Gabal they have a word for their approach to time, it is madalang, roughly translated it means leisurely or slowly. Gabal sits within the South Torbian Time Zone (STTZ), which is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); the country does not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Significant Non-State Threat Actors in the Gabal OE
| Group Name | Type | Country | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tantoco Cartel | Criminal | Multiple | The Tantoco Cartel was founded in the Republic of Torbia, it also operates in the largest cities of Olvana. The Tantoco Cartel is involved in almost every type of criminal activity imaginable: drug and weapons smuggling, extortion, motor vehicle theft, illegal gambling, money laundering, counterfeiting, and murder-for-hire The Olvana government is serious about bribery as some senior government leaders have been forced to resign or imprisoned when caught taking bribes. |
| Gabal Forever | Insurgency | Gabal | "Gabal Forever" is a very small group (less than 100) of boisterous people who do not like the way the government and business leaders are catering to foreigners in attempt to chase the tourist dollar. Many of these are 85%-95% ethnically native to the local islands and trace their ancestry back beyond written history through the oral history tradition of their ancestors. These people are upset about the change in their island’s life and would like it to return to what it was 200 years ago before Westerners arrived. |
| Kumpulan | Criminal | Gabal | Kumpulan is the major criminal organization in Gabal. Its leader owns a local import/export business with warehouses in several cities and towns in Gabal, from which it can hide illegal goods among legitimate imports. It is highly likely that the group has agents scattered throughout the National Police as well as any local governmental officials. |