Mr McLar
Kcifren (HKGD)
c.c. Mr Murray
Mr Morland (MAED)
Miss Brown
CONFIDENTIAL
; HKK 186/1
HONG KONG CIVIL AVIATION
1.
No
Mr Graeme Wilson, BCARFE, whom I met in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur mentioned his concern that Hong Kong might do a UDI over air traffic rights and insist on doing their own negotiations. He drew my attention to the attached 1967 papers and said that there was renewed talk in Hong Kong of this.
I discussed this briefly with Mr Rogers and Mr Graeme
We agreed that:
2. Wilson.
a.
we should continue to do our level best for Hong Kong in civil aviation matters (although in the event of a direct conflict of interests with the UK we might have to give UK interests priority);
b. in the event of an attempt at a UDI on this issue we should have to recommend to our Ministers that it should be strongly resisted.
3. I pointed out that with an adverse trade balance with Hong Kong we had to look to invisibles to redress the balance. Hong Kong's very existence depended on Britain and the Hong Kong Government would be most unwise to pursue this line of thought. It might arouse all sorts of sleeping dogs whose bites could hurt.
ра
9 February 1979
N Williamson JM.
n
Han Corday
HA H Cortazzi
as you are probably well aware, this is a tuning battle, which regularly leads to flexing of umocles on both sides. It is melodramatic of w Wilson to talk of Hong Kong's doing a UDI - they may from time to time to to permade is to allow then to take cover responsibilit for the own negotiations, but they are well aware of the catastrophine political repercussions of the trying to act independently. HKGD' role in this is mostly to act as a go-between and a referee, to ensue that Hong Kong get as for a deal as possible (whine de DoT are by no means always ready to give thein).
CONFIDENTIAL
[12/2
(wenfere