CONFIDENTIAL
to regard Australian and British interests in this matter as
identical, would like to hold these talks very soon, even in
advance of an Australian approach to third countries. FCO officials
take the view that there is no risk of losing negotiating leverage
to secure any improvements we want in the scheme, since our agree-
ment to the scheme remains essential; and that our difficulty will
rather be to persuade the Australians that we mean business when
we ask that they should talk to other countries affected before
carrying the scheme further. Agreement to immediate talks would
lead the Australians to hope that they could talk us out of our
insistence on this point. Moreover a further round now would give the impression to third countries that HMG had agreed to the scheme in principle, and were not too concerned about third country reac-
tions. The Australians have already gone further than was agreed
at the last round of talks by indicating in an Aide Memoire-for
circulation to all ASEAN member countries (and which has already
which
leaked to the that they wished to talk to them
practicable" after the completion of negotiations with the British".
thepress
=
as soon as
19 July 1978
сс
PS/Lord Goronwy-
Roberts
Mr Cortazzi
Mr Murray
SEAD
SWPD
HK&GD
SAD
MED
WED
NAD
MR Morland
Maritime, Aviation and Environment
Department