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Spokesperson Kristopher Ray announced yesterday that The Subsea Environmental Acoustic Listening & Integrated Networked Experiment, or SEALINE for short, completed deployment last week.

It was delivered by PLAID Surface Interdiction Groups II (Short Hops) and III (Mist Lynx) over the course of June and July 2206. SEALINE is a permanent scientific array of dozens of acoustic sensors, designed to monitor undersea life and study the migratory patterns of special "Glassfin Drifter," a particularly tasty species of fish. This is a topic of particular interest to PLAID, as Fish Island's economy depends heavily on the success of its fishermen, and being able to accurately track sealife populations and movements will be greatly helpful to ongoing conservation and environmentalist efforts.

Initial deployment was only meant to ring Fish Island at a 100km radius and deployed purely via PL-ASF-06 RUBY SEEKER aircraft, but interest from Larrea and Sarconia funded an expansion of the network, with provisions that they have full access to the data from SEALINE. Buoyed by this success, private interest groups further funded an entirely new section, running past Ikonia to Syx Island, linking up with the Fish Island Line.

The exact location of the Sarconian-Larrean Line is still being discussed, but it will span the area depicted.

Ray addressed concerns that this might constitute an encroachment on Ikonian sovereignty and even provoke them to rash action, given the Spearkan claim to Fish Island.

"Well, we went and asked them, and they said that we could do whatever we needed to, they don't care. They did say something about the Apex declaring 'mega death to Zokesian interlopers,' so to make sure everyone's safe we'll be installing that part of the SEALINE program with PVC, UIF and Hearthian contractors and employees."

Not dissuaded, an IBC correspondent continued the line of questioning. What about the military uses of SEALINE? Could the encirclement of Ikonia be related to the flurry of activity in the Apex's office last week? Why were PLAID warships and warplanes used to deliver the platforms?

"You could say that SEALINE has some military application. The only acoustic sensor systems in the system are made by Bahamuto Dynamics, and they only sell military-grade hardware- I think it's some sort of grift, they're damned expensive systems- but SEALINE doesn't have the power generation to run them continuously. What we do, is run one sensor at a time, then cycle to the next. It's good enough to find all the fish and the whales, not so much for a military sensor."

What about the incredible similarities between the SEALINE platforms and the PL-Air Support Forces SSQ-53 sonobouys? Again, why were PL armed forces used to deploy SEALINE?

"I'm glad you asked! PL-ASF was very gracious in helping us with our design for SEALINE! They've got a sort of capacitor system going on, they run all three sensors simultaneously but it burns the buoys out right quick, turns them into sea waste. We used their design principles to make SEALINE air-droppable, and thus it would only be natural that we have PL-ASF and PL-SIF help us deploy the systems."

Could SEALINE track ships?

"Of course. SEALINE is very sensitive as fish are small and difficult to track, we think we heard one of PL-SIFs Aster attack submarines leaving Fish City and crossing the Fish Island SEALINE a while ago, not many other ways to explain hearing a Herring propeller running 400 meters beneath the surface. It's been a huge challenge, filtering all the ships we hear out of the data so we can get back to finding the Glassfins. We've come up with a database, that stores all ship signatures we hear so we can filter them out more easily. SEALINE is deployed in some really high-traffic chokepoints, especially to the south of Larrea and along Ikonia so there's a lot of ships, and a lot of sealife to document! We think there's Ashscale Cod traversing past Syx Island, it's all very fascinating."

What will the SEALINE project do with all the stored data? Will the privacy of boaters at sea be at risk?

"SEALINE is committed to the privacy of all sailors at sea. However, in some cases due to governmental concerns some data may be released to them- for example, all raw data is released to the involved nations, and PL-SIF thinks they can use it to track down Ikonia's piracy problem. It would be amazing if SEALINE could make the seas safer!"

In a separate interview, Commodore Cellinia Pierce of PL Surface Interdiction Group II noted to the accusations that PLAID was trying to box Ikonia in:

"Well I get the concerns, but if we really wanted to box them in PL-SIF could have just stuffed their coasts with torpedo mines ages ago, not that we'd even bother. Admiral Zhou could just take SIG I up to Ikonia and close the door, he's got double the Armada Ikonius in numbers and bigger ships to boot. So I don't think the Apex has much to worry about SEALINE."

Zokesian President Maximillian Vikus-Ward thanks PLAID for keeping the seas safe and conducting such important oceanic research.

Prime Minister Lin Tanaka expresses concerns regarding the monitoring of maritime traffic across all strategic chokepoints of the area. Intelligence gathered poses an asymmetric threat to the faithful operation of Feguan cooperation with key Southern partners such as the Imperial Union.

We are led to believe that PLAID does not demonstrates sufficient guarantees regarding the use of the data gathered by SEALINE, most notably the exclusive nature of access granted to foreign powers such as Larrea, whose policies brings serious concerns regarding the diplomatic stability of the region. Fegeland will be very adamant towards ensuring the safety and stability of all neighbors of Baskay, and especially historical allies. Therefore, we demand that access to the SEALINE data and all subsequent intelligence operations carried out in the eastern Baskay and in the strait be granted to all regional partners, including specifically Zokesia and the Imperial Union.

Contrary to Lin Tanaka's belief, PLAID does not own the SEALINE project. PLAID is in charge of the deployment and maintenance of the SEALINE project, but SEALINE is largely paid for and subsidized by partner nations.

Regardless, SEALINE's partner nations include Fortis and the PVC, Sarconia, Zokesia and the Confederacy of Kolus, Elohim and Hearthia, Ikonia, and yes, Larrea.

Additionally, representatives from the UIF were consulted and SEALINE was deployed with the understanding that the UIF would be made aware of any relevant findings.

This constitutes the majority of major powers globally. Out of the major players in the Baskay, only Basil and Canstana are excluded. Given those two power's tendencies towards each other, it was deemed prudent both by SEALINE and it's partner nations that SEALINE access not be given to either, lest SEALINE data be used in conflict between the two.