CONFIDENTIAL
of a Brunei Diplomatic Service.
In turn, I
would now like to propose an amendment to the Exchange of Notes on Judicial Matters.
The last part of Conclusion 1 in the Exchange about the provision of help to Bruneis by the Hong Kong judiciary, contains the phrase:-
"provided that the arrangements will
terminate forthwith if at any time the United Kingdom ceases to be responsible for the government of Hong Kong".
But the inclusion of this phrase could lead ill-wishers to question why the caveat had been included unless the British Govern- ment had an intention or expectation of ceasing to exercise responsibility. I am anxious not to encourage such speculation, which is, indeed, the opposite of the truth.
I propose, therefore, that the phrase should be deleted from the documents as initialled by us in London on 28 September. I hope that you can agree, and that the alteration to the documents may be made before signature takes place in December."
[Ends]
3.
Fletcher-Cooke will be informed of our
proposal when he calls here on 20 October.
CONFIDENTIAL
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