My RP explanation is that Binaris is attempting to reclaim the fjords that provide the country with most of its food via the fishing industry as well as provide the backbone of the economy with the large coastal cities up there.Updated Map with Claims:
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(Zanalan D/R/C = 18/5/0)
I must say, quite a few nations are taking a... unique approach to expansion. I'm see quite a few nations that claimed territories in a line rather than a circle. OOC, this is technically acceptable, but IC, the effort required to hold a line of territories is much greater than the effort required to hold the same number of territories closer to the mother province.
Binaris is a Federation and each state in it is one of the map hex regions, and it's working along reclaiming its states from an unnamed event I'm still trying to lore up. Once the large north fjords are claimed the process is headed inland. This explanation also explains how the population is ballooning from 5 million to 14 million over a very short time. They're already there.