Cypher
CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
(The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
D. 15th April, 1967. R. 15th: #1
06.05 hrs.
85
1967
#1 12
10
3
PRIORITY
CONFIDENTIAL
No. 472
Addressed to Commonwealth Office. Repeated
#
Peking, No. 163.
"Washington, No. 91
(C.O. please pass to both).
83 Your telegram No. 700.
(85)
Visits of U.S. Warships.
The operative point here is presumably the interpretative note to paragraph 'E' of the Guidelines. Particularly at this time, I should not wish to alter the rule that if the operational role of a ship becomes the subject of widespread publicity "two or three weeks" before a visit, the visit may have to be cancelled.
2. From our point of view publicity before visits offers considerably greater risks than publicity after them. If we cut down the period agreed in the Guidelines we shall leave ourselves with very little margin for cancelling visits in difficult circumstances, particularly given the fact that ships normally leave Vietnamese waters about 7 or 8 days before arriving in Hong Kong.
3. Perhaps suggestion that publicity after visits should be barred for 15 days could be put as it is to the Americans. If the question of Admiral Sharp's 30-day bar is raised, it could simply be said that we are guided by the interpretative note to Guideline 'E', hence no publicity for at least 21 days before the visit would seem desirable.
LAST
R
83)
(Passed as requested)
BEX
"REF.
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
Copies sent to:-
Foreign Office
Ministry of Defence
-
Mr. Bolland Mr. Denson Mr. Henn
CONFIDENTIAL
HWD2/1