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GPS 480

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Hke 184|1

FM KUALA LUMPUR 011935Z JULY 79

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 238 OF 1 JULY

MIPT: AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT AND CONCORDE

HFK 1041024/5

--2 JE 79.

On T

1. AT THE BREAKFAST WITH GHAZALI ON 1 JULY AND AT THE SUBSEQUENT MEETING WITH HUSSEIN ONN THE SECRETARY OF STATE WAS PRESSED HARD ON CIVIL AVIATION.

2. HUSSEIN ONN STRESSED THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE AIR SERVICES FROM A BROADER PERSPECTIVE. HE THOUGHT THAT WE WERE MAGNANIMOUS ON THE BIG THINGS BUT NIGGLING ON SMALL MATTERS. HOWEVER, THESE SMALL THINGS COULD HAVE A WIDE-RANGING EFFECT ON OUR OVERALL RELATIONS. PUBLIC OPINION IN MALAYSIA COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHY WE WERE BEING SO MEAN. AT THE LAST ROUND OF TALKS WE HAD MADE NO REAL PROGRESS. WE HAD PUT IN SO MANY PROVISOS, AND ON THE QUESTION OF FIFTH FREEDOM RIGHTS BEYOND HONG KONG THERE HAD BEEN REGRESSION INSTEAD OF PROGRESSION. IF IN THE NEGOTIATIONS WE DID NOT SHOW CONSIDERATIONFOR MALAYSIAN INTERESTS, ANTI-BRITISH GROUPS WOULD TRY TO EXPLOIT THIS TO THE DETRIMENT OF OUR OVERALL RELATIONS- AND WOULD MAKE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE GOVERNMENT ON CONCORDE.

3. HUSSEIN ONN, HOWEVER, MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WAS NOT IN HIS NATURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TROUBLES OVER AIR SERVICES TO MAKE DIFFICULTIES FOR US ON CONCORDE. HE INTENDED THAT THIS SHOULD STILL BE DEALT WITH SOLELY ON WHETHER OR NOT IT CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND SO FAR THERE HAD BEEN NO REAL DIFFICULTIES.

4. BOTH HUSSIN ONN AND GHAZALI ALLEGED THAT WE WERE FAVOURING SINGAPORE AT THE EXPENSE OF MALAYSIA. WE HAD, THEY SAID, BEEN UNFAIR TO MALAYSIA FROM THE OUTSET WHEN MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE AIRLINES HAD BROKEN UP.

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5. WE POINTED OUT TO MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS THE CONCESSIONS WHICH WE HAD MADE ON THE TRUNK ROUTE AND THE IMBALANCE IN EARNINGS IN FAVOUR OF MALAYSIA. WE ALSO DREW ATTENTION TO THE REAL DIFFICULTIES FOR CATHAY PACIFIC OVER FIFTH FREEDOM RIGHTS FROM HONG KONG TO TAIPEI AND TOKYO. CPA FELT THAT THEY HAD LOST ON THE DEAL AND IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO GET THEM TO CONCEDE ANYTHING FURTHER. HUSSEIN ONN DID INDEED ADMIT THAT WE HAD MADE SOME CONCESSIONS TO THEM ON THE TRUNK ROUTE.

6. WE DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM OF FIFTH FREEDOM RIGHTS BRIEFLY WITH THE GOVERNOR AND WITH BREMBRIDGE IN HONG KONG ON 29 JUNE. BREMBRIDGE SAID THAT IT WOULD COST MONEY TO CONCEDE TO MALAYSIA WHAT THEY HAD BEEN ENJOYING HITHERTO. BUT I HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT, IN THE LIGHT OF HIS RECENT DISCUSSIONS WITH STEELE, WHICH HE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT WE WERE IN AN ENTIRELY NEW BALL-GAME, CATHAY WOULD BE PREPARED, IF PRESSED, TO MAKE SOME FURTHER SMALL CONCESSIONS, IE AT LEAST THE MAINTENANCE OF MAS'S CURRENT RIGHTS. MUCH WILL OF COURSE DEPEND ON WHETHER THEY GET A FAIR DEAL FROM THE CAA OVER THE LONDON-HONG KONG ROUTE.

7. THE SECRETARY OF STATE AGREED WITH HUSSEIN ONN THAT WE SHOULD RAISE THE LEVEL OF THE NEGOTIATIONS TO MINISTERIAL LEVEL. WE WANTED TO CLEAR THIS PROBLEM UP. HE NOTED THAT MR PARKINSON HAD PROMISED TO KEEP A PERSONAL EYE ON THIS MATTER.

HUNT

FILES

ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION

CONCORDE AIRCRAFT

MAED

SEAD

NAM D

WED

OID

IPD

NEWS DEPT

LEGAL ADVISERS

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RHODESIA. D

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PSI SIR I GILMOUR PS / PUS

SIR-A-DUFF

SIR A PARSONS

MR BUTLER

MR CORTAZZI

MISS BROWN

MR MURRAY

NR BULLARD

MR FERGUSSON

2

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حمله

LIKAR.

الحب

CONFIDENTIAL

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79

པན་་་་་

FM KUALA LUMPUR 0101800Z JULY 79'

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 237 OF 1 JULY

JUL 1979

INFO ROUTINE BANGKOK JAKARTA SINGAPORE MANICA WASHINGTON

UKMIS NEW YORK PEKING GOV HONG KONG

SECRETARY OF STATE'S VISIT TO KUALA LUMPUR

1. THE SECRETARY OF STATE HAD BEEN VERY WARMLY RECEIVED. AFTER A 2-HOUR BREADKFAST MEETING WITH GHAZALI, THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, HE HAD A FURTHER 2 HOURS WITH HUSSEIN ONN, THE PRIME MINISTER, AND ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF AN HOUR WITH DATUK TAIB, THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE, AND ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER IN THE ABSENCE OF RITHAUDDEEN AT THE ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING IN BALI. THE MAIN SUBJECTS COVERED WERE :

2. NEXT WORD UNDERLINED REFUGEES. GHAZALI EXPOUNDED HIS VIEWS AT LENGTH, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE-SCALE PROCESSING CENTRES. HE ACCEPTED THAT THERE WERE DIFFICULTIES ABOUT ESTABLISHING SUCH CENTES IN VIETNAM. HE SAID THAT MALAYSIA HAD PROMISES OF 52,000 PLACES THIS YEAR: IF UNDER THEIR PRESENT POLICIES THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES ARRIVING DID NOT RISE ABOVE 90,000 (WHICH INDICATES THAT SOME BOAT PEOPLE WILL STILL BE ABLE TO LAND), THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM IN 2 YEARS. (THIS MAKES HONG KONG'S PROBLEMS ALL THE MORE STARK) HE WAS SCEPTICAL ABOUT SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION AND WHILE CRITICAL OF VIETNAM BOTH HE AND HUSSEIN ONN WERE SOMEWHAT AMBIVALENT ABOUT FUTURE RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM. GHAZALI WAS CONTEMPTUOUS OF THE INDIANS AND BOTH HE AND HUSSEIN ONN THOUGHT THAT THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT WOULD SIT

FEEBLY ON THE FENCE.

3. NEXT THREE WORDS UNDERLINED RHODESIA AND NAMIBIA. HUSSEIN ONN SAID THAT HE WAS NOT WELL ENOUGH INFORMED THE LISTENED CAREFULLY TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S EXPLANATION OF OUR POSITION AND THE EFFORTS WHICH WE WERE MAKING TO FIND AGREED SOLUTIONS. HE ASKED US TO KEEP HIS OFFICIALS AS FULLY INFORMED AS POSSIBLE AS HE WOULD LIKE TO GO TO LUSAKA FULLY BRIEFED. WHILE HE WILL NO DOUBT NOT WANT TO GET OUR OF LINE WITH OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, I THINK THAT HE WILL TRY TO TAKE A REASONABLY COMMONSENSE LINE.

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