{
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
DRAFT MINUTE
To:-
Mr Hayward, Far Eastern Department
K251
DSR 11
Type 1 +
From
R JT McLaren
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
In Confidence
UK/CHINA MARITIME AGREEMENT
1. Thank you for letting me have a sight of your draft reply to Mr Prior's letter of 7 August.
2. My only comment concerns the suggestion that the
d Embassy in Peking could be asked to out the Chinese informally about their current attitude to the Agreement. I do not recommend that we should take any initiative in reviving discussion of the proposed Agreement because it is most unlikely that the Chinese will drop their objection to Hong Kong's inclusion in it while at the same time we would have to maintain that any Agreement should not be at the expense of the interests of Hong Kong
shippers.
3. I therefore recommend that the second half of paragraph 3 of your draft beginning "However in view of
" be
deleted and the following substituted:-
"It would not therefore seem appropriate to take any
initiative with the Chinese to resuscitate discussion on
the Agreement".