CO537-6036 — Page 86

33848/50

PRIORITY

SALA DHEALAMPING-SOCALLMERGEN

SAYING

From the Secretary of State for the Colonies

To the Officer Administering the Government of HONG KONG

Date 4th March, 1950

NO.

32

Saving

SECRET

My telegram No. 1769 of the 4th December, 1949.

Territorial Waters.

Owing to the loss of records, you are of course unaware that in 1937, in connection with the Sino- Japanese hostilities, careful consideration was given to the limits of Hong Kong territorial waters. The view was then taken that although the map annexed to the Peking Convention of 1898 delimited the leased territory by a line taking in considerable areas of water, including apparently parts of the high seas, this did not mean that there was a purported lease of any waters outside normal territorial waters; the line was merely a delimitation of the area within which all territory was leased, and accompanying that territory the normal territorial waters. Deep Bay and Mirs Bay, having entry of less than ten miles, were recognised as having been Chinese national waters which China could and did specifically lease to us. The Governor was therefore instructed to avoid any appearance of claiming jurisdiction beyond the internationally accepted limits of territorial waters and the Japanese were given a tracing showing these limits. It was considered undesirable at that time to amend the Interpretation Ordinance of 1911 or otherwise to attract publicity.

2.

After a fresh examination of the question in consultation with the Foreign Office and Admiralty, the 1937 interpretation of the Peking Convention has been reaffirmed but it is recognised that this interpretation will be difficult to uphold unless the definitions of "the Colony" and "Colonial waters" in the Interpretation Ordinance are suitably amended. I am advised that such amendments would be difficult to justify if in practice jurisdiction has in the past been exercised outside the normal limits of territorial waters. Nevertheless, subject to your comments, I consider that the necessary amendments to the Ordinance should be made without delay and as unobtrusively as possible.

3. It would of course have been most opportune to incorporate these amendments in the new Bill referred to in my telegram No. 218, but as you know I was not

/aware