Mr Winchester
CONFIDENTIAL
A
RE
(13
21 6/1
HKK 182/412/1
MACAO AIRPORT
RK.
1. You will recall that, following Mr Hibbert's discussion about the Maçao Airport project with the Portuguese Ambassador on 26 April (Mr Hibbert's minute of that date refers) and your submission of 17 May to Mr Hibbert, it was ag reed that I would talk to the Counsellor at the Portuguese Embassy and explain that HMG looked to the Portuguese Government to establish the Chinese position on the Macao Airport project.
2. I did so on 15 June during an amiable half-hour with Senor Barata. Two points only of interest arose: at one point in our conversation Sener Barata remarked that he envisaged no difficulties for his Government in consulting the Chinese Government, even in the absence of diplomatic relations with Peking. There are, as we guessed there must be, channels of communication through Macao. Senor Barata seemad to take a rather less jaundiced view of the project than the Portuguese Ambassador appears to have done in April. In his expressed view, the Airport project would substantially help Macao's economic development.
3. It did seem to me, however, as predicted by Mr Hibbert, that the Portuguese wanted us to be able to report to Lisbon either that we supported or opposed the project. I avoided giving Senor Barata any such dictum, but we had a longish discussion which included mention of all the problems that a Macao project would cause to the Portuguese.
17 June 1977
CC:
135)
kr Hibbert (35)
r Samuel (FED) Mr Fenn (Peking)
CONFIDENTIAL
JA B Stewart
Hong Kong & General Dept