CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
C C Hayward Esq
BUDAPEST
Telephone 01-
LAST REF.
(20)
Your reference
Our reference
HKK 22/2
Date
25 November
SOVIET VESSELS IN HONG KONG
1.
Andrew Stuart has asked me to reply to your letter of 8 November reporting the visit to Budapest by Sir Y K Kan, and in particular to your suggestion that Hong Kong's policy on East European visitors is not obviously consistent with the apparent ease with which Soviet ships can visit Hong Kong harbour.
2.
It is true that over the last few years the Russians have managed to obtain agreement by the Hong Kong Government to an increase in the number of Soviet ships visiting Hong Kong for repairs. This presumably partly reflects the fact that Hong Kong is a convenient place for the Russians to repair their ships, while the visits are commercially valuable to Hong Kong. At the same time, both the Hong Kong authorities and ourselves maintain our reluctance to see the Russians gain any sort of foothold in the Colony; and the movements of crew members from visiting Soviet ships are tightly restricted. The Russians are anything but content with the present arrangements, as you will see from the enclosed copy of a letter which Andrew Stuart sent to the Political Adviser on 27 August following a call on East European and Soviet Department by the Soviet Consul.
3.
We are still in the process of consulting Hong Kong on the exact terms of our reply to this Russian approach. I shall send you a copy of the reply which finally issues, but it is very unlikely that the Hong Kong Government will agree to any relaxation of the present restrictions.
EAST PAPER
B H Dinwiddy
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Department
Cc:
EESD