COMMONWEALTH
SECRETARY
FS/67/27
TOP SECRET
#504
Copies to:
P.S.65 Ms Hando Sui A. Galsurvky
RUSSIAN PROPOSAL FOR AN INTELLIGENCE
ESTABLISHMENT IN HONG KONG
My WI Carter. action P.S.LOPUS
You will wish to know that, when he
visited this country in February, Mr. Kosygin
told the Prime Minister that the Russians would
like some kind of representation in Hong Kong
to gather intelligence on China. Before
consulting you or the Governor of Hong Kong,
I thought it best to consider whether or not
this proposal was a starter in the light of more
general considerations about our relations with
the Soviet Union.
I have now carefully examined the whole
question, including the risks it would involve
to our relations with China. I have decided
Kosygin's proposal is unacceptable, not least
because the Chinese would find out, interpret
the admission of the Russians into Hong Kong
as a very unfriendly act and would be likely to
take counter-measures against the Colony. There
were also strong technical objections from the
intelligence point of view.
However, I do not wish to turn down Kosygin's
proposal out of hand and I am proposing to suggest
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