TNAG-0039-FCO40-75-Border-incidents-with-China-1967 — Page 24

C.S. 41A

2600078

30,000-1/67-B52117

REF.

TSX LM 57/67 in

SCR 91/1486/59 SFA

SECRET

for

COLONIAL SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

214

November 23rd, 1967.

ра

Ilear Bunny,

171)

I was interested to see Michael Wilford's letter of November 3rd to you about the Hong Kong border talks.

I am sorry that we failed to say explicitly in our telegram No. 1614 139) that the Chinese, at the first in the series of talks, had

indicated that they were prepared to return all three policemen. (Our debriefings of our team normally take place in something of a rush late in the evening, though that is no excuse for failing to tell you specifically of the salient feature of the negotiations.

2.

We here have a good deal of sympathy with the idea that in the long term the best way of settling this problem would be for us simply to purchase the Chinese peasants' fields on our side of the border. But there seem to me to be two principal difficulties:-

3.

(a) The Chinese might very well treat the suggestion

as an insult. In other contexts in the talks they have accused us more than once of thinking that we can "buy the Chinese people".

(b) In any case they would be certain to demand a very

large sum, and the process of haggling about the amount could well be protracted for an immense period.

However, the idea is one that we will certainly bear in mind and might consider using either if we get into impossible difficulties in our present negotiations or at some later date if the atmosphere on the border improves.

4.

I am sending a copy of this letter to Michael Wilford in Washington.

29.11.67.

LAST

REF

171

#F

W.S. Carter, Esq., C.v.0.,

Commonwealth Office, London, S.W.1.

Jous Anty Fair

(T.A.K. Elliott)

SECRET