Nos. 6 & 17 in
53838/15/37 H.K.
to avoid giving any reasonable grounds of
complaint to Japan and from the general, and
as he thought, overriding point of view, of
our local defence interests.
Belligerent warships, while being
allowed a right of innocent passage through
the waters of a neutral, had no right to use
neutral waters as a base for belligerent
operations, and the neutral has a right to
give belligerent warships notice (not less
than 24 hours) to leave its waters, failing
which they will be interned. He thought,
with and there was general agreement this view at
the meeting, that the Hong Kong Government
should be prepared to adopt a similar policy
even though this might mean a curtailment, as
essential in the Colony's interests in present
circumstances, of the apparent Chinese right
to the use of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay under the
1898 Agreement. It should be ascertained
whether the Governor of Hong Kong did in fact
possess powers to intern Chinese warships if
they refused to leave Hong Kong, even where no
state of war existed de jure possibly in a
state of emergency, apart from an actual state
of war, there were powers available of which
the Governor could make use. We undertook to
examine this point
The discussion then turned to the
position of aircraft flying over Hong Kong.
Telegraphic instructions had been sent to the
Governor in October and November, in which he
was told that unauthorised flights by foreign
aircraft should be dealt with on a peace-time
20
basis,
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