19
19. F0-F1708/298/10
14 anod
24-2-38
Agrees
that
assembly of ambulance flames
should be sanctioned, but not of passenger plants
I have spoken to Lieutenant-Commander
Wigglesworth.
sandicumy
ground that
The Foreign Office agree that
ambulance aircraft may be assembled at Hong
Kong and delivered to China, but consider
that the assembly of passenger aircraft should
not be sanctioned "as it is virtually impossible
to ensure that they shall not be used for
I understand that the military purposes".
Air Ministry agree with this view and are writing to us accordingly. I presume that
in view of this, we can only telegraph such
a decision in reply to the Governor's
telegram (No. 13), and I attach a draft for
conson. accordingly.
If I may be permitted
Chr
the remark, however, I am not quite clear as
to the Foreign Office line of reasoning
the the assembly of ambulance aircraft, but not of passenger aircraft
text it is virtually impossible to
ensure that passenger aircraft shall not be
used for military purposes, as I understand
from Lieutenant-Commander Wigglesworth that
there is practically no difference between the military purposes for which either ambulance
or passenger aircraft can be used. distinction is purely a political one, and
the assembly of passenger aircraft in Hong Kong is presumably considered to be more
"provocative" to the Japanese Government.
The
In view of this decision, I suggest
that it is now scarcely worth while discussing
the project for setting up a factory in Hong
Kong as set out in (18), at an inter-
departmental conference.
If neither civil
nor