Window Treaty: Formal Signing Talks Begin — Full Disclosure of the Memorandum Remains the Biggest Sticking Point
The Foreign Ministry announced on the 21st that, building on the interim agreement on the Window Treaty previously reported on the 15th, formal government-to-government talks aimed at a signing before year's end will begin in early November in Helvetia. The explicit ban on military diversion is already settled, but whether to fully disclose the memorandum covering Amelia's demand for priority supply to allied nations remains the biggest sticking point, outweighing even the treaty text itself. Diet member Tetsuo Munakata, aligned with the sovereignty camp, again urged caution.
At its regular briefing on the 21st, the Foreign Ministry announced that government-to-government talks toward the Window Treaty's formal signing would begin in early November in Geneva, Helvetia, the seat of the International Dimensional Boundary Organization. As previously reported on the 15th, the article explicitly banning military diversion of window rigs and related stable-window technology has already reached interim agreement; the new talks will mainly settle the treaty text's final wording and the timing of a signing ceremony. Yuichi Amamiya, 55, councillor at the ministry's International Cooperation Bureau, said, "Practically speaking, I think we've cleared the biggest hurdle, from interim agreement to finalized text. The goal of a signing within the year hasn't changed."
As previously reported, Amelia's demand for priority supply to allied nations will not be written into the treaty body itself, but handled instead through a separate memorandum, with only a summary disclosed publicly and the full text kept undisclosed for now. In the coming talks, whether to fully disclose that memorandum is expected to carry over as the biggest sticking point, outweighing the treaty text itself. The Nordic Union and Deutsche, both in the disclosure camp, are expected to renew their call for 'full disclosure, memorandum included,' while Amelia, in the middle camp, is said to be holding firm that "this is a working-level matter between allies, and we don't anticipate full disclosure." A Foreign Ministry source said, "The treaty text's wording is essentially settled, but on the memorandum alone, we don't expect an answer to come quickly even after November's talks."
Diet member Tetsuo Munakata, 58, aligned with the sovereignty camp, renewed his criticism on the 21st: "I credit the ban on military diversion, but if the signing moves forward with the allied-priority memorandum still undisclosed, we end up signing something whose contents we never saw. It's premature." Kanata Miyake, 49, the Diet member who leads the pro-treaty 'Opening Observation' group within the ruling party, countered, "The memorandum's existence has already been explained, as previously reported — we're not hiding it. Fully disclosing every working-level detail would make it impossible to negotiate the alliance relationship itself." On the previously reported 'undisclosed annex' suspicion from the 11th, the ministry again stated at the briefing, "The document the suspicion points to and this memorandum are different things; our position denying its existence hasn't changed" — though no material confirming either way has surfaced.
A spokesperson for the Xuanzhou embassy said on the 21st, "We remain concerned that the very link between observation technology and military use, which our camp has long worried about, is being preserved in the form of this memorandum." A source at the Nordic Union's Tokei embassy, meanwhile, said, "We credit the settled principle of an explicit ban on military diversion, but unless full disclosure of the memorandum is realized, it falls short from the disclosure camp's standpoint" — signaling it would renew its call for full disclosure at November's talks. The Rukai legation, touching on King Kaie III's previously reported visit, limited itself to saying, "As a friendly nation, we hope for the negotiation's smooth progress."
The memorandum's handling is no small matter for Tokei's own industry, including Tokei Precision Optics and other observation-equipment makers that build window-rig components. As previously reported on the 20th, its main-contract negotiations with Tai'ei's Yingchuang Technology are entering their final stretch toward agreement within the month; a company executive told this paper, "We can't rule out that the memorandum's contents could affect supply terms with technology-partner nations like Tai'ei. Honestly, negotiating without seeing the full text isn't easy." A source at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry overseeing window-rig components said, "Even once the treaty text is settled, the industry's overall outlook stays hard to read until the memorandum's handling is decided."
Mayor Motoko Ukai, commenting on the 21st, echoed her familiar refrain: "I want to credit the fact that the text is settled. The question of the memorandum's handling — the number beyond the number — we can make noise about once we've seen November's talks." The city says it will keep sharing information with the Foreign Ministry, given how directly the Window Treaty's course affects Tokei's observation-industry economy.
The ministry said it is weighing a signing ceremony as early as early December, depending on the outcome of November's talks. Amamiya summed up, "Negotiating without hiding that we're caught in the middle — that hasn't changed. Whether we can clear this last obstacle, the memorandum's handling, within the year will be the real test." The tug-of-war over the Window Treaty aims for a resolution within the year, but for now, it continues.
