I believe it fits. If they had wanted to annex it they would have done so properly. It's not like any other actor would risk all out war over it. If this had be

I believe it fits. If they had wanted to annex it they would have done so properly. It's not like any other actor would risk all out war over it. If this had been 300 years ago, it would have played out differently. (The status as autonomous region also bring a whole cadre of complications. I don't know much about it really more than you read in history books.)