CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Ridley, Secretary of
visited Peking (22
State
for
Transport, has
subsequently
25
September).
The Chinese
Minister
of
Communications told him that
him that the Chinese response to the paper would
be passed to us through the Joint Liaison Group (JLG).
6.
In the light of Chinese views, and of separate discussions to
be held between Hong Kong Government and Department of Transport
officials in London in November, the Hong Kong Government will draw
up a draft policy statement which, after consultation with
interested parties in Hong Kong, will be discussed with the Chinese,
probably at the third JLG meeting (March 1986), before publication.
7. The Hong Kong Government hope to be able to introduce the new
register by about 1990. Before then, a number of legal and other
problems will need to be resolved. One of the most crucial will be
Hong Kong's status after 1997 within the International Maritime
Organisation and other
bodies, and its need to
continue to comply with international maritime conventions.
international
This
will be essential if the new register is to retain international
respectability.
Such arrangements will probably need to be discussed with the Chinese in the JLG before approaches are made to
the international organisations concerned.
8.
to
A sensitive issue not covered in the consultative paper i s
whether ships registered on a separate Hong Kong register would be subject to requisition in time of war by the Crown under the Royal Prerogative (or legislation which might reinforce it). We have told the Hong Kong Government that UK legislation would be needed renounce the powers of the Prerogative. Politically this would be impossible, given current parliamentary pressures to ensure that HMG has access to adequate shipping in times of war ог other emergency.
The Hong Kong Government
reluctance accepted
have
with s ome
that
to requisition remains. In practice however the extent it might be used against Hong Kong ships would be affected
HMG's power
to which
by:
(i)
the fact that these are likely to be further away from the UK than ships registered in other UK dependent territories;
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