Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
Telephone 01-
C G Brading Esq
Directorate of Military Survey
Elmwood Avenue
Feltham
MIDDX TW13 7AE
1
Your reference
Our reference
Date
4 May 1976
Co
(2)
We spoke last week about your letter reference D/Svy 3/1/60 of 19 March 1976.
As I understand it, the problem with which we are faced is whether you can revert to your normal military practice in depicting international boundaries on your maps of Hong Kong now that we have revised the boundary disclaimer note.
Before seeking Hong Kong's views on this question, I would be grateful if you would let me have two additional pieces of information:-
(a) what distribution do you give your maps?
Are they generally available (as, for example,
are Admiralty charts) to the extent that we should assume the Chinese will become aware of any changes that you might make?
(b) if you revert to your normal practice on maps
of Hong Kong what precise changes would you wish to make? Perhaps it would be easiest if you sent another map with the proposed changes already made.
1
With this information we, and those concerned in Hong Kong, will be in a better position to consider the political implications of the proposed changes. Although I can understand the pressure to revert to your standard practice in depicting boundaries, my present inclination is to suggest that, if there is any chance. of the Chinese objecting to the changes, it would be better to let sleeping dogs lie.
In the meantime, I see no objection to your continuing to produce maps of Hong Kong, with the old disclaimer pote and the agreed depiction of boundaries.
bcc:
Mr Clay, Defence Dept
R B JANVRIN
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean
Department