Any independent colonies or significantly self-governing ones would almost certainly maintain their own defence force, as soon as mobile suits are available more widely at least. If they're still governed by the EF then they'd probably have an EFSF garrison and support facilities serving a similar purpose.

>>23595550
The ones under direct Federation rule usually have a defense garrison attached to them, so they've got a base with MS and maybe a ship or two nearby. The colonies that are independent can choose to have a small defense force. After the OYW, Zeon was forced to cut down its military power and only maintain a small force of MS. Side 6 was independent but in prime UC they never armed themselves with MS and preferred to rely on the Feds to keep order by calling them for help. In an alternate UC where the Federation lost most of its power in space and no longer had orbital fleets, Side 6 ends up buying surplus MS from Zeon. In late UC, a colony called Macedonia is shown but it's not really clear where it's located, they operated surplus Heavygun MS purchased from the Federation. In the even later UC depicted in the Crossbone Gundam sequels, everyone has to build junker MS out of all kinds of salvage from space, junkyard scraps, and previously retired museum pieces.

>>23595562
>a colony called Macedonia is shown but it's not really clear where it's located
Side 2
It is close to Zanscare capital, Amelia.

>>23595599
Wait, so Zanscare doesn't even control their entire side?

You know.... if mining and manufacturing is mostly done by machines then at some point the primary factor for determining MS numbers would be power, meaning a colony with 1 million people potentially could field the same number of suits as a 20 million person colony.
Higher population colonies would still have an advantage because their larger populations mean there is a higher chance of acquiring talented pilots but at the end of the day talent could still show up anywhere.
Since the skill of individuals becomes the deciding factor I could see military doctrine becoming fixated on the individual with entire wars being decided by a single duel.
So kinda like anime but even more extreme.

>>23595602
They don't have the direct control at least. You can say that it is in Zanscare's sphere of influence though.

>>23595624
You'd still need resources to extract and you'd still need the resources to exploit those resources and to build those automated factories. I think a colony's overall wealth would have more to do with the size of a force that could be fielded.
All things being equal, that colony with 20 million people has 20 times more people paying taxes and 20 times more people working in adjacent industries, they could put 20 times more money towards mobile suit production and development without it increasing the relative burden on anything. Hell they could put 10 times as much into it and still come out ahead, with a lot of resources left over for other things.

>>23595602
not even close, throughout the entire length of the war they're also fighting for supremacy for Side 2 while trying to invade Earth