Omit / 1. The earlier
lver droft read "None is
Satisfactory?
AG.
← but did
that the
not
say Australians had rejected the alternatives as this one does.
affected and Lee Kuan Yew will probably react sharply.
Malaysia's initial reaction could also be adverse but we
hope that when the full implications of the proposals are
explained to her, she will view them at worst with
neutrality. There is a risk that irrespective of their
separate air service/tourist interests, the countries
concerned would gang up to block the scheme by a total
refusal to cooperate eg by denying overflying and landing
rights. There could also be opposition to the scheme
from some countries in Europe (particularly from the Dutch
if KLM services stopped) but this would probably not be
strong enough to block it. (Paragraphs 6 and 7).
7 There are implications for Hong Kong. At first sight
they do not appear very serious but the Hong Kong
Government and Cathay Pacific Airways are still studying
the proposal. It is too early to give the Australians a
reply in respect of the Australia/Hong Kong routes
(Paragraph 8).
8
In theory, there are a number of alternatives to the
Australian proposals. The Australians examined several of
these in their policy review and rejected them. In practice,
none would be satisfactory to us
Conclusions and Recommendations
(Paragraph 9).
9 The Australian proposals offer economic and social
benefits, but politically there are some disadvantages:
Singapore and Malaysia are likely to be upset, the former
especially, and there is some risk that the mid-point
countries concerned would gang up to block the scheme