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was now up to the Cambodians and the Vietnamese; Mr McLaren was not hopeful. The Chinese saw Cambodia, like the Gulf, as a means of finding their way back to respectability. They would continue to press for free and fair elections as it was in their interests and were already trying to extract concessions from the Americans.
6.
Mr Sato asked Mr McLaren for news of progress over Hong Kong. Mr McLaren said problems over the Nationality Bill were largely behind us. There were significant difficulties on separated Air Services agreements and PADS. The Governor of Hong Kong would raise these issues on his visit to Japan and any assistance Japan could provide would be welcome. Mr Sato felt the business community was coming round to seeing the advantages of participation in PADS.
7. Mr McLaren noted the irony of the recent change of Prime Minister in the UK given the speculation over Mr Kaifu's future when Mr McLaren was in Japan. Mr Sato believed there would soon be changes in the Japanese Government, including the Foreign Ministry. Mr Kaifu would remain for the time being but his fate was not in his own hands. It was unfortunate that at this important time for Japanese foreign policy the uncertainty over political leadership would continue.
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