In the world of Realpolitic, a country does what it has to. There are no binding laws, only what you can get away with and what the rest of the world calls you on. If any of you are old enough to remember the invasion of Panama, you may also recall that it was a United States ally... However, it was also a small third world country that most of the world considered our puppet state, so who cares. Let us try that with a large country with allies of its own and it would be a different story. After the fact, we won, so we wrote the outcome in a pleasing manner.
If the elected officials want to allow Statesman to put the hammer on the rogue islands, then as long as the opportunity cost doesn't exceed the benefits, he's going with their blessing. If you want to put the brakes on that type of operation, then increase its cost to the politicians. Contributions by foreign officials, petitions from duped constituents, blackmail and assassination threats are all ways that have been successfully used in the past. Don't give in to the weak side and claim that it's not fair. Do something to change what you don't like.
