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acceptable to both sides, if the will is there. Officials here have been trying for nearly a year to negotiate a solution and remain ready to talk at any time: I have to say that we have not yet discerned a matching resolve on the Hong Kong side to find a fresh meeting point rather than assume that political pressure will avoid the need for any serious movement.
Time is short, as you say; although we can at a pinch move a little from the end of February deadline, the practicalities of making plans to retain or withdraw the patrol craft means that this needs to be resolved with the next few weeks. I suggest that the next step should be for your Department to make it absolutely clear to the Hong Kong Government that unless they are prepared to make a very substantial contribution, or take on direct responsibility for the craft, withdrawal will be inevitable. To avoid this they must start negotiations as quickly as possible to find a mutually acceptable solution.
Your ever Aucive
The Rt Hon The Earl of Caithness Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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ARCHIE HAMILTON