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M. Raimond in Paris on 8 March. He wondered, however, how long increased French interest in the region would last if M. Chirac and M. Flosse fell from power.
8. Lord Glenarthur said that he saw the wisdom of New Zealand's restraint. He urged them to continue their effort to maintain a dialogue with France.
NAURU
9. Lord Glenarthur expressed HMG's anxieties over a possible claim by Nauru towards the costs of rehabilitation of the island.
10. Mr Marshall confessed he had some sympathy with the Nauruans, but he added that he believed the Partner Governments had a watertight legal case. He undertook not to respond to any Nauruan approach without consulting the British and Australian Governments.
11.
Lord Glenarthur said it would certainly be prudent not to raise this matter, until the Nauruan Government themselves approached us. He was glad to note New Zealand would not undertake discussions with the Nauruans without consulting UK and Australia: the possible financial penalties of "sympathy" were immense.
USSR/LIBYA IN SOUTH PACIFIC
12. Lord Glenarthur expressed concern of the possibility that the Soviet Union and Libya might exploit openings in the Pacific.
13. Mr Marshall said New Zealand was not unduly worried about the Soviet presence and regarded this with a healthy degree of cynicism. There was a need to communicate the experience of Western countries in dealing with the Soviet Union to the impressionable peoples of the Pacific. The growing strength of the South Pacific Forum helped in this respect.
14.
South Pacific island countries were not impressed by Libyan mischief-making, with the possible exception of New Caledonia and Vanuatu. In Vanuatu, there was a capable new Cabinet although Father Lini had problems in dealing with Barak Sope over the Libyan question. In New Caledonia, unless France engaged the Kanaks in the decision making process after the elections in France,
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/ Tjibaou