2.
ta
gho would ve t
Gure Di Wnc.
The Governor, Hong Kong, has suggested, in his
the
fjinterests
ram no 997, that the sacrifice of interests of one
British airline (CPA) in favour of the other (BOAC) is
unacceptable.
exchange aeeeptance of rights envisaged by the Malaysian airline
He agreed with BOAC'S Wilson that the
source did not satisfy the realities of the situation,
He confirmed that Hong Kong would find acceptable a
balance of regional rights, as between the requirements
of CPA and a reasonable concession to MAS, which would
leave something in hand as a bargaining counter for the
truck BOAC traffie route. He urged that the Hong Kong and
metropolitan interests should continue to present a
united front and accept the possiblity that, if the current Air Services Agreement were to expire in late
January before negotiation of a satisfactory agreement
in its place, there might have to be a temporary cessation
of air services between Malaysia and British points.
3. If this matter is raised with you you may wish to
say that we shall be replying shortly to the Governer
telegram in the sense that we agree that the reported
"alaysian position does not reflect a fair deal in
aviation terms, that in our next round of negotiations
we shall continue to seek to satisfy all the legitimate
interest on our side (which include Hong Kong and
Brunei) and that BOAC have confirmed that if the
Malaysian s adopt such a dėvisive tactic they (BOAC)
will stand firm with CPA against it. You could add
that our impression is that BOAC are concious that
their broader interests and those of CPA have much in
common and that both parties stand to gain from mutual
support.
t
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
: