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US Views
4. In recent weeks the US officials have mentioned to us that
NSS could be useful in the Southern Hemisphere, including the
Falkland Islands. Although the official purpose of NSS would
be to monitor British compliance with the Treaty, and in the
Southern Hemisphere they would not be useful in this regard, the
Americans argue that NSS would be a useful supplement to the
existing capability of the US Atomic Energy Detection System
(described in a paper submitted on 25 January) for monitoring
important NNWS like Argentina or South Africa.
Our own
technical experts believe that this view may exaggerate the
detection capability of NSS. We have therefore asked the
Americans to les us have a more detailed technical assessment
of the potential value of NSS in the Southern Hemisphere.
Conclusions
5. In suggesting 10 sites for a United Kingdom network, the
Russians paid scant attention to technical utility or
political/constitutional acceptability. Indeed several of
the sites were on territories no longer under British
sovereignty. They have made clear that their requirement
for 10 NSS in United Kingdom territory is purely political and
have indicated that they are prepared to be flexible about
locations. If the UK eventually decides to accept NSS on
dependent territories, the Russians thus may not insist on
Belize, the Falkland Islands or other politically sensitive
sites, provided that we can propose substitutes.
MAJD, SAMU ang M & Uu monour.
6.
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