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dangerous precedent.
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5. In these difficult circumstances, our Least damaging option seems to be to push ahead, while bracing ourselves - and, as far as possible, OECD members for Chinese torpedoes. We therefore intend to ask the Hong Kong Permanent Representative in Geneva to inform the OECD Secretariat before the Council meeting on 9 December that we would like them to put our application on the agenda for the subsequent Council meeting.
6. We have reservations about briefing the NCNA on our decision at this stage (your telno 1009). We have already briefed them fully on the background to our application, and explained that we see no grounds for discussion in the JLG (our telno 1814). If we now tell them that we have decided to disregard their request for consultation, that would presumably only encourage them to try to foil our application. It is of course possible that the Chinese will themselves raise this during JLG XXVIII. In that event, the best line might be simply to reiterate that observer status creates no IROS, and that there is therefore no basis for discussion under the guidelines on IROS. If pressed, we would have to acknowledge that our application was going forward.
7. Grateful for confirmation deskby 07010OZ that you are content · with our proposed approach.
8. HKD please copy to Paul, UKREP JLG, visiting (telecon Ashton/Paul refers).
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