CODE 18-77
FAR 250/1
Reference
Mrs Tucker
UNDepartment
WHO: UK SEAT ON THE WESTERN PACIFIC REGIONAL COMMITTEE
1. I am sorry not to have answered sooner your minute of 6 September.
2.
Although Brunei may have taken little interest in WHO affairs in the past and may therefore have raised no objection when Fiji and Hong Kong took it in turns to occupy the United Kingdom Seat at these regional committee meetings, with the approach of 'full independence' they are likely to begin to show more interest in the activities of the Specialised Agencies of the UN and their regional bodies.
3. In any case before Fiji became independent in October 1970, was before the agreement of 1971 with Brunei was concluded under which Brunei became wholly self-governing internally. Until then, Brunei was a quasi-protectorate of the United Kingdom.
4. All in all, therefore I think that the Brunei authorities might look some-what askance if they learnt that they were to be represented at the 1983 meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Committee by other than UK officials. I accordingly agree that we ought to go back to Hong Kong on
this.
20 September 1982
K. Philip's
K Philipps
South East Asian Department W 86A
233 4670