Menghean Navy Code of Signals
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The Menghean Navy Code of Signals, previously known as the Menghean Maritime Code of Signals and abbreviated MNCS or MMNS respectively, is a system of flag signals used by the Menghean Navy from the 1930s onward. It is similar in structure and function to the International Code of Signals, but its letters are based on the Menghean Sinmun alphabet rather than the 26-letter alphabet used in Eastern Casaterra. As such, it has a different combination of flags, some of which correspond to flags in the ICS and some of which are unique to Menghe.
Today, most civilian shipping in Menghe uses the International Code of Signals (ICS) to report the status of a vessel or request medical assistance, and the MNCS to communicate phonetic messages, signaling the use of either system with code pennants. The Menghean Navy uses the MNCS for both vocabulary and phonetic messages, but can also use the same set of flags to communicate with foreign vessels according to the ICS.
History
The Menghean Navy developed its first unified code of signals in 1909, after the formation of the Federative Republic of Menghe. Prior to this time, ships in the Sinyi and Namyang navies had used their own systems of signal flags, which were developed for military use only. These flag systems lacked any phonetic component, instead using combinations of colored flags to transmit specific vocabulary messages.
During the drafting of the International Code of Signals in the early 1930s, Menghe objected that the proposed set of signal flags did not suit the needs of the Menghean language. Though this complaint did not change the final form of the ICS, it did lead the Imperial Menghean Navy to request the drafting of a modified set of signal flags for Menghe. This task fell to a committee led by Ri Yong-chŏl, who opted for a compromise arrangement: letters shared by the Anglian and Sinmun alphabets would be represented by ICS flags, while ICS flags representing consonants absent in Menghean would be repurpused to represent Menghean vowels absent in Anglian. Because the simplified Sinmun alphabet chosen by Ri had 28 letters rather than 26, this still required the introduction of two new flags, which Ri's committee assigned to two uncommon vowels. A consonant repeater pennant and an MMNS code pennant ("I wish to communicate using the Menghean Maritime Code of Signals") were also adopted.
Because of the extensive similarity between the two systems, Menghean ships with a full set of MMNS flags can also communicate according to ICS rules. Foreign ships with a full set of ICS flags can send almost any message via the MMNS, though this requires the use of substitute flags. Ri's committee reasoned that this similarity would eliminate the need for ships transiting between Menghean and foreign waters to carry duplicate sets of signal flags, though guidebooks for interpreting signals would have to be duplicated.
The final version of the MMNS entered into force on 1 January 1935, one year after the official implementation of the ICS and months before the outbreak of war with Sylva. Polvokia, which also uses the Menghean language in its naval forces, adopted the MMNS in 1936 or 1937. The MMCS saw widespread military use during the Pan-Septentrion War, serving as the Menghean Navy's primary signalling system during that conflict, but gained little traction elsewhere.
Following Menghe's surrender in 1945, the Allied powers required that Menghean civilian ships instead fly their flags in accordance with the International Code of Signals. Menghean warships followed suit after the Republic of Menghe Navy was established in 1953. Following the end of the Menghean War of Liberation in 1964, the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe reinstated the MMCS for both military and civilian vessels in Menghean waters. This created significant obstacles to foreign trade, as the MMCS was still not well-known abroad, but the DPRM's relative economic isolation allowed the system to persist.
In 1995, Menghe's civilian maritime regulatory authority formally required the use of ICS signals by civilian ships in order to facilitate communication between Menghean and foreign vessels. From 1989 onward, it had already become common for foreign ships to use ICS signals in Menghean waters, but the new regulations granted this a legal foundation. The Menghean Navy, however, continues to use the MMCS, which was rebranded as the Menghean Navy Code of Signals.
As part of a military restructuring program after the Innominadan Crisis, the Innominadan Republican Navy adopted MNCS flag vocabulary to facilitate coordination with Menghean warships. The naval forces of Argentstan also use the Menghean Navy Code of Signals. Namhae Front member states on the continent of Meridia, however, have not adopted the MNCS as of 2022.