IMMEDIATE
CYPHER/CAT A
GRPS 662
FM HONG KONG 150930Z
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
TOP COPY
ento AKIOD
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(15,
TO IMMEDIATE D T I TELNO ALLOT 15 OF 15TH FEBRUARY. 1974.
r
30 N
YOUR ALLOT 24.
AS
LART
REF.
12
10 FEB 1974
FOR ROGERS FROM WILSONEXT
میان
CPA AIRCRAFT.
REF
MKK21/12
I SAW ARMSTRONG AND HARTLEY TODAY AND DISCUSSIONS COVERED
ESSENTIALLY SAME GROUND AS IN ASTON'S CREDA 7 OF 14TH FEBRUARY
AND YOUR TELEGRAM UNDER REFERENCE.
2. THEY KNEW OF NO LOCKHEED/ROLLS ROYCEE PROPOSALS GOING FURTHER
THAN IMPROVEMENTS PRESENTED IN WRITING BY LOCKHEED TO CPA ON
13FEBRUARY. I SUBSEQUENTLY SPOKE TO BLUCK WHO SAID HE RECOGNISED
13 FEBRUARY AMENDMENTS AS APPROACH EXPECTED IN HONG KONG TELEGRAM
165 OF 11 FEBRUARY. BLUCK CONFIRMED LATEST APPROACH IMPROVED
FINANCIAL TERMS BUT DID NOT HELP RESOLVE CPA'S WORRIES ABOUT LOCKHEED MUSCLE. HE SAID HE WAS AWARE THAT KOTCHIAN HAD SEEN (OR WOULD SEE)
SWIRE IN LONDON ON THIS VITAL ASPECT BUT POINTED OUT KOTCHIAN
HAD ALREADY FAILED TO CONVINCE CPA HERE ON PRECISELY SAME ISSUE. HE ASKED IF LOCKHEED/ROLLS EXPECTED TO MAKE YET FURTHER PROPOSALS TO CPA, WHICH I COULD NOT ANSWER, I GAINED CLEAR IMPRESSION THAT FEBRUARY 13 PROPOSAL HAS NOT ALTERED ORIGINAL CPA VIEW.
3. IT EMERGED FROM MY TALKS WITH ROLLS ROYCE THAT, THOUGH AWARE OF LONDON'S POLITICAL INTERVENTION, THEY WERE MIS-DIRECTING SOME
OF ENERGY IN PURSUING THOUGHT THAT CPA HAD DELAYED ANNOUNCING
DECISION IN ORDER TO BARGAIN FOR FAVOURABLE UK TREATMENT IN
AUSTRALIAN TRAFFIC RIGHTS DISCUSSIONS. I DISABUSED THEM OF THIS
IDEA.
WHILE RECOGNISING LOCKHEED'S MUSCLE WAS IN DOUBT, THEY ARGUED THHAT ANY AIRCRAFT COMPANY (AS WITH BOEING TWO YEARS AGO) COULD QUICKLY GET INTO FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY), ANND MADE POINT THAT DOUGLAS HAVE SOLD NO DC10-10 AIRCRAFT (CPA CHOICE) SINCE 1970.
THEY /CONFIRMED
CONFIDENTIAL