585
4.50 RIORITY
EN CLAIR
FM SINGAPORE 170430Z OCT
UNCLASSIFIED
HKK 184/1
RECEIVED A RELATAY NO. 51 19 CCTPR
OFFICEX
PA
PEGISTRY Action Texan
*
No
Grafio
TO PRIORITY FCO TELNO 316 OF 17 OCTOBER
INFO ROUTINE CANBERRA JAKARTA KUALA LUMPUR BANGKOK HONG KONG
(FOR GOVERNOR AND BCARFE
PLEASE PASS BOTH) OTTAWA (FOR
ROGERS)
(584
MIPT
UK/AUSTRALIAN AIR SERVICES
1. FOLLOWING ARE EXTRACTS FROM NEW NATION EDITORIAL ON 14
OCTOBER
'' THE BELOW-THE-BELT TACTICS BEING ADOPTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS TO TRY AND MONOPOLISE AIR TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES COME AS A STARK ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER RECENTLY IN FLORIDA DESCRIBED AS A LOSS OF NERVE AMONG SOME GOVERNMENT LEADERS AND BUSINESSMEN IN THE WEST. THEIR CONFIDENCE IN FREE MARKET COMPETITION ON EQUAL AND FAIR TERMS HAS BEEN SHAKEN. HERE ARE TWO WELL DEVELOPED
RICH COUNTRIES TAKING ACTION AGAINST A SMALL, DEVELOPING COUNTRY PURELY BECAUSE THE LITTLE FELLOW IS FAR MORE EFFICIENT THAN THEY IN RUNNING AN AIRLINE. WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS PENALISE EFFICIENCY BECAUSE BRITISH AIRWAYS AND QANTAS ARE UNABLE TO EFFECTIVELY MEET HEAD-ON THE CHALLENGE OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES. THAT IS THE ONLY PERSPECTIVE THROUGH WHICH THE WHOLE CONTROVERSY
SHOULD BE VIEWED.
***
WHATEVER THE ARGUMENTS THERE MAY WELL BE FAR CHEAPER
BY AS MUCH AS A THIRD FARES, THE PROPOSED ARRANGEMENT, IF IT DOES NOT PERMIT PARTICIPATION FROM OTHER AIRLINES, INCLUDING SINGAPORE AIRLINES, WHICH MAY BE ONLY TOO WILLING TO PROVIDE
/EVEN MORE