1
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 1728
CONFIDENTIAL
MUC OS1/2
RECT
SIRY
ì . NOV 1993
Juke
OF 111044Z NOVEMBER 1993
10
046477
MDLIAN 9431
ra. 051/2.
INFO ROUTINE CABINET OFFICE, WASHINGTON, PEKING
Your telno 951: Exercise Vulgate
1. We doubt whether there is a serious risk that the press of public will jump to the kind of conclusion which you suggest. Exercises of various kinds take place here fairly regularly, without attracting major publicity. The most recent example was Exercise Basilar in May, to test emergency response procedures to a nuclear accident at Daya bay. Prima facie, this would have been more likely to be misinterpreted. In fact, it aroused little interest.
2. Our press line will in any case be designed to avoid speculation that there is any connection between Exercise Vulgate and the talks on Hong Kong's electoral arrangements. We will make clear that it is a routine exercise, of a kind carried out by all responsible governments from time to time, to test Hong Kong's counter-terrorist procedures and capabilities; and that, for obvious reasons, we never disclose details of such matters in public. If we are pressed, we will of course conform that there is no (no) China dimension. We do not intend to confirm the involvement of the US Consulate-General, which will not in any case be publicly visible.
3.
We do not intend to tell the NCNA about the Exercise in advance. This would in our judgement be more likely to stimulate questions we do not wish to answer or even a request to send an observer (on the precedent of Exercise basilar, when we invited Chinese officials) - than to provide useful reassurance. If the NCNA ask us, we will explain that this is a purely internal event, with no China angle or implications for the transfer of sovereignty. We might add that, at an appropriate time in due course, we would be happy to brief them on Hong Kong's latest counter-terrorist capabilities (which may of course need updating as a result of this exercise).
4.
We will fax a synopsis of the Exercise scenario to HKD a little nearer the time.
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