(17865) Dd.145178 400m 5/73 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
CONFIDENTIAL
or none at all on the Associated States, but add that
we were willing to take part in any discussions.
This recommendation seems not altogether tactically
wise. To undertake to participate would hardly
encourage the Chairman to limit debate. We
would have departed from our position of principle
without gaining any advantage, and we would be
likely to offend the governments of the Associated
States. I recommend therefore that we should
agree to participate in the Committee debates
on the Associated States only if the Chairman
is prepared to suggest to the Committee a viable
proposal for removing the Associated States
from its scope.
27. On visiting missions Mr Richard also recommends
that we should not give the Committee any encourage-
ment to think we or the local governments would
agree to accept a mission, unless we could thereby
be confident of disposing of the problem.
I recommend that we should agree.
28.
As regards Brunei Mr Richard recommends that
จ
we should continue to insist that it is not a
territory which the Committee is competent to
discuss, and that we should continue to absent
ourselves from the debates. Brunei has in fact
never been a non-self-governing territory and our
transmission of information on it under Article
73E have been made on a voluntary basis. We
terminated this transmission of information
in 1971 when the terms of the revised Anglo/Brunei
agreement removed our previous power to influence
CONFIDENTIAL
/the internal