CONFIDENTIAL
8
Mr Mallaby, Arms Control & Disarmament Department, E04
CTBT NEGOTIATIONS AND THE DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
1. Thank you for sending me copies of your two minutes of 30 January about the proposals for National Seismic Stations and On Site Inspections in the Dependent Territories.
NSS
2. Mr Quantrill has already discussed with Mr Parker the two telegrams on NSS. We should like the telegram to Hong Kong to make it clear that we intend to resist strongly any Russian pressure to have an NSS in Hong Kong, and I understand that the telegram has been amended to take account of this. Ав previous papers make clear, there is no technical justification for an NSS in Hong Kong, and the Russian's' intentions in asking for one can only have been mischievous. The more they insist, the more suspect their motives will become, and the stronger therefore will be our grounds for saying no.
OSI
3.
Where we wish Treaties to apply in Dependent Territories we normally invite them to introduce the appropriate legislation locally (alternatively Orders in Council can be prepared here, except in the cases of Belize, Bermuda and Montserrat). I suggest therefore that paras 6(b) and (c) of your draft saving telegram should be rephrased to inform Governors that they will be invited to pass legislation to cover their obligations under the Treaty, and that drafts of proposed legislation would be provided in due course.
4. The OSI papers should also be copied to EAD, who may heed to take action in respect of BIOT.
1 February 1979
Copied to:
Mr Shakespeare, MCD Mr Ure, SAMD
Mr Snodgrass, SPD
Mr Duff, WIAD
Mr Posnett, DTA
Mr Samuel, FED
Mr Daunt, SED
Mr Simons, SEAD
RJT McLaren
Hong Kong and General Department
Mr Watts, Legal Advisers PUSD
Defence Dept
HKG.083/1
No
R.
FEL
рё
CONFIDENTIAL