I was thinking something along the lines of the Falklands War/Guerra de las Malvinas. Gunray is having problems back home so he launches a campaign (with he thinks, Sith backing) to reclaim a lost province to boost his popularity, only to have it blow up in his face). He's still a puppet but a puppet with a better purpose than taxation.
It wouldn't take too much effort to make out that the Federation have a claim to the planet, all be it a old one (right click to enlarge) :
