CONFIDENTIAL
INTERNATIONAL REPORTED JI BANGKOK TELNO ALLOT 6 TO DOT, NOT T LL) SUGGESTED THAT THE OTHER ASEAN COUNTRIES WERE UNLIKELY TO GANG UP WITH SINGAPORE TO BLOCK THE SCHEME. BUT THE POSSIBILITY COULD NOT BE RULED OUT AND MEANTIME GIVEN THE POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY THE UK COULD NOT ACCEPT ANY FINAL COMMITMENT.
5. IN RESPONSE TO MR NIXON'S SUGGESTION THAT THERE MIGHT BE A JOINT APPROACH TO THE MID-POINT COUNTRIES, ROGERS SAID THAT THIS WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE SINCE THE AUSTRALIANS WERE THE AUTHORS OF THE PROPOSALS AND UNDESIRABLE SINCE IT MIGHT BE INTERPRETED AS A GANGING UP BY AUSTRALIA AND THE UK AND THAT THIS MIGHT PROVOKE THE GANGING UP BY THE ASEAN COUNTRIES WHICH WE WERE ANXIOUS TO AVOID. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF FOLLOWING THE AUSTRALIAN APPROACH THE COUNTRIES CONCERNED WISHED TO ENTER INTU DISCUSSIONS WITH US, WE WOULD BE GLAD TO RESPOND PROMPTLY. MR NIXON ACCEPTED THIS. 6. MR NIXON SAID THAT HE WAS ENCOURAGED BY THE LANGUAGE OF THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF OUR STATEMENT AND PARTICULARLY BY THE REFERENCE TO OUR WILLINGNESS TO CO-OPERATE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN PROPOSALS RATHER THAN MERELY TO ACCEPT THEM. ROGERS CONFIRMED THAT THIS CHOICE OF WORDS WAS INTENTIONAL. HE ADDED THAT GOOD PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE TOWARDS REMOVING THE PROVISOS TO WHICH THAT UNDERTAKING WAS SUBJECT: BUT IT HAD NOT BEEN FEASIBLE TO DEAL WITH ALL THE ISSUES IN THE COURSE OF THIS WEEK AND THE POLITICAL PROBLEM REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPHS 3-5 ABOVE STILL REMAINED.
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7. THE TIMING OF FUTURE ACTIONS WAS DISCUSSED AND MR NIXON SAID THAT HE WOULD NEED TO BE GUIDED BY THE ADVICE OF HIS FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLLEAGUE REGARDING THE MANNER AND SEQUENCE OF AUSTRALIAN APPROACHES TO THE THIRD COUNTRIES INVOLVED. CLOSE CONSULTATION AND FURTHER ROUNDS OF DISCUSSION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE UK WERE NECESSARY
8. FCO PASS TO DOT.
DUDGEON
FILES:
MAED
SWPD
BEAD
HK & G D
WED SED
S AM D
[COFIES SENT TO CAD/DOT]
N AM D
LEGAL ADVISERS
MR BUTLER
MISS BROWN
MR MURRAY
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