SECRET UK EYES A
and the restoration of US MAP cuts to the BDF has done much to
ensure that our mutual support of this organisation will
ntinue.
AUSTRALIA AND PACIFIC REGION
32.
During the Prime Minister's visit to Australia for the 1988
Bicentennial Celebrations she emphasised Australia's strategic importance to the UK as a friendly, like-minded country situated in the fast-growing development area of the Pacific Rim and well
placed to preserve stability and advance democracy in the
Pacific. Following her visit the PM instructed government
departments, including the MOD, to give greater priority to
bilateral links with Australia. During 1989, therefore, MODUK progressed relationships on all fronts. HQBF Hong Kong and
HQUKLF conducted reciprocal training exercises, the levels of
individual personnel exchanges under the LONG LOOK/SEA
SURGE/AIRWAVE programme continued unabated and the UK provided
more than 30 umpires for Exercise KANGAROO, Australia's largest deployment exercise since 1945. Cooperation was developed over
coordinated participation in the programme of FPDA exercises and
the Chiefs of Defence of both New Zealand and Australia visited
UK in November to attend the BRITANZ talks. Closer military
relations with New Zealand are still constrained by Wellington's
anti-nuclear defence policies and, although New Zealand offered to host the annual Exercise FINCASTLE MPA competition next year, it was finally decided that Canada would do so with the hope
that an accommodation will be reached which will permit the use
of a New Zealand venue in 1991. This year HQBF Hong Kong units
took part in New Zealand's intervention scenario Ex GOLDEN FLEECE
and the New Zealand forces expressed willingness to coordinate
their plans for FPDA exercise participation with those of the UK.
VCDS visited both Australia and New Zealand in October and
briefed senior staffs of both nations on the reorgansation of
MODUK which both countries are using as a model for the
reorganisation of their own Ministries. It is thought unlikely that the constraints being placed on New Zealand by the USA and
UK will result in revision of her anti-nuclear policies in the
near term. In the meantime, we are endeavouring to conduct
SECRET UK EYES A
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