CLAIR
FM HONG KONG
UNCLASSIFIED
TO ROUTINE FCO TELNO BIS 7 OF 15 FEBRUARY
CONFERENCE FOUR NOW WHEN YOU SAY THAT WE HAVE ANXIETY
ABOUT RUSSIAN BUILDUP IN ARMS COMMA THAT IS TRUE STOP BECAUSE
WHEREAS WESTERN POSITION IS MORE OR LESS STATIC COMMA
RUSSIANS ARE INCREASING BOTH QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF THEIR
ARMS STOP NOW THE LATEST
DEVELOPMENT IN WHICH THE WEST WILL HAVE TO TAKE NOTICE IS OF
COURSE THE NAVAL EXPANSION STOP AND THAT IS SIGNIFICANT
STOP NOBODY ANTICIPATES EYE THINK
THAT RUSSIANS WOULD USE THEIR FLEETS IN ORDER
TO ATTACK BRITISH SHIPS OR ANYBODY ELSE STOP BUT THEY HAVE AYE
PRESENCE AND WHAT WE
ARE CONCERNED WITH PARTICULARLY IN INDIAN OCEAN AFTER
EXPERIENCE IN MEDITERREAN IS THAT THERE SHOULD NOT BE
AYE MONOPOLY OF RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN INDIAN OCEAN STOP FOR
EXAMPLE IF THERE IS AYE MONOPOLY COMMA YOU
NEVER KNOW COMMA THAT FORCE WILL NOT BE USED TO
ACHIEVE POLITICAL OBJECTIVES WHICH WILL
BE ADVERSE TO FREE COUNTRIES STOP UNQUOTE PARA. REPLY ING
TO AYE SUPPLEMENTARY TO THIS QUESTION ON WHETHER
SITUATION WOULD GET ROSE AND WHETHER
RUSSIAN MILITARY BUILDUP WOULD
EXPAND COMMA SIR ALEC SAID COLON QUOTE WHEN YOU
SAY IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO COMMA
WE ARE CONSTANTLY OF COURSE IN
THE NNN AAA TTT 000 ALLIANCE REVIEWING SITUATION
SEMICOLON WE HAVE TAKEN CERTAIN STEPS IN LAST YEAR TO
STRENGTHEN NNN AAA TTT 000 ONGROUND
/STOP.