Oceania Cooperative Union
"Welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are devoted to peaceful cooperation with other OCU nations. The cultural diversity and historical backgrounds of each individual nation must be respected. The future is uncertain. It is difficult to foresee how the diplomatic environment surrounding us will change."
The Oceania Cooperative Union
The Oceania Cooperative Union consists of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, and several Pacific islands. The OCU excels in spycraft and "conventional" black projects like deniable operations units, but its lack of an orbital elevator has given it economic and social trouble not frequently seen in other blocs. Indeed, the OCU faces regular rebellions in member states, many of which are funded (covertly or otherwise) by the Union or Republic of East Asia, and during periods of upheaval, outright invasions.
More recently, the OCU has been technologically ascendant. While the turn of the decade was a rough time for the bloc due to the invasion of OCU member nation Japan followed by sanctions after the accidental destruction of much of New Yark City, the OCU has made up for these losses swiftly. Investments in Photon Power have made OCU nations, especially Japan, totally self-sufficient, and its Gundam Fight victory has made it much stronger politically as well, giving rise to sentiment that the OCU should liberate the rest of Japan by force, or even turn the tables.
Political Situation (Phase 2)
With the break from the Federation and the addition of several colonies and two former OAC sub-blocs to its ranks, the OCU is in a fairly strong position. It has gone from also-ran bloc to significant geopolitical power in a relatively short timeframe.
This has come with some problems, however. The move to forgive intergenerational debt in NUNE-held former Earth Federation colonies has led to a push for the same in the OCU -- and while the OCU has agreed to do so, its resource base is smaller. This, coupled with increased push to "do something" about Area 11 and the development of the rest of the Tsutsujidai colony, has left OCU Earthnoids feeling like a low policy priority despite enjoying some of the highest standards of living in history (thanks in no small part to Photon Power). The ongoing participation of OCU nationals in non-OCU projects like the Benerit Group and NERV (Phase 2) is also seen as a waste and a national security risk. Hawks have also started encouraging moves that would destabilize southern Britannia, eastern Europe, and southeast Asia further.
As a result, the OCU government finds itself in a somewhat precarious position. The need to balance member autonomy, invest in infrastructure where it's most necessary, and appease political interests has never been higher, and the OCU's historical risk of revolts feels as high as ever despite no longer being on the hook for the Federation's largesse.
Political Situation (Phase 1 - Preserved)
The Oceania Cooperative Union has been on the losing end of many recent intra-Federation disputes, and hurt badly by Earthnoid shared struggles besides. Despite this, however, much of the OCU has been quite successful at picking itself up off the ground, owing largely to Japan's economic power, even after losing half of Japan's land mass and natural resources to the Union.
The biggest OCU-internal issue is domestic disaster relief and other financial aid, and it's quite contentious. Even relatively prosperous OCU nations like Australia and Japan have been struggling, and as a result, supporting "nails that stick up" like Alordesh is unpopular, with the most recent relief bill having prompted extensive protests and stumbled its way into being a much smaller bill. The OCU is relatively uncommitted to the war with the PLANTs; indeed, there is a modest movement within the OCU that suggests leaving the Federation behind entirely. (It, after all, has left them behind.)
Free Japan
Free Japan is an economic powerhouse despite all of the hardship it's faced, owing almost entirely to efforts by Prime Minister Gennosuke Yumi. Thanks to investment in Photon Power, it does not depend on the Orbital Ring's solar installations for energy, and trades freely with several non-Federation nations out of spite for the Britannian Union.
Prime Minister Yumi enjoys relative popularity, but many Japanese, and some elsewhere in the OCU, would like to see more decisive action regarding the Union. The dominant political faction, however, sees the current split between Japan and Area 11 as preferable to total conquest, which is what would almost certainly happen if hostilities started again.