CO129-602-5 Limits of territorial waters 27-10-1949 - 9-12-1949 — Page 17

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and from Fung Head to Hirs Point in Mirs Bay, the waters of both these bays within these closing lines being specially claimed as national waters properly leased by China.

It was not thought desirable in 1937 to amend the local Interpretation ordinance to conform with this decision or otherwise to attract publicity to it but the Japanese were told that these were the limits of territorial waters which we claimed.

5. It is clear that this pre-war decision has been lost sight of in Hong Kong and that at present they purport to exercise jurisdiction in the whole of the waters defined in the 1911 ordinanos. As it happens, the present cirou- stances in Hong Kong are not dissimilar to those obtaining in 1937 and there is again the possibility of incidents (arising perhaps from the irregular use of Hơng Kong waters by Chinese Nationalist warships or later by Chinese Commist vessels) in which our claim to exereine jurisdiction beyond the customary three mile limit would be challenged. (ur preliminary view therefore is that it will be more politic to limit the exercise of jurisdiction, as in 1937, to those waters which we could certainly claim to be tarritorial.

6. If such a decision is taken the final question arises whether it would be advisable, besides limiting jurisdiction in practics, to make public the new limits of territorial waters which we claim and to amend the local Interpretation Ordinance to conform with them. It would certainly seem that unless the limits claimed were known to all concerned the risk of incidents would remain and if the Interpretation ürdinance were not amended difficulty might also arise over the application of Hong Kong ordinances. (The doubt would, for instance, remain whether such ordinances applied in the

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