TNAG-0116-FCO40-152-Departmental-Briefs-For-Meetings--Visits-and-Foreign-Affairs-1969 — Page 19

Secret.

MR. AIERS

MR. PINGLAND

Copy to Mr. Gordon (SEAD) ilos Emery (PIGD) Mr. Carter√(HKD)

1. Simons (USD)

1271:

Future of ANZAM

N... Gammara

P.A on file

A

25.9.69.

PROBLEM

K

H

T

The ANZAM Chiefs of Staff are meeting in Canberra on

14 October. They will be considering inter alia a paper by the

ANZAM plannere putting forward proposals for the future of ANZAM.

The draft brief, on which we are asked to comment by noon on

23 September, proposes (para 11) that we should support the

proposal that ANZAM should continue more or less on present lines

until the end of 1971 and should endorse in principle for planning

purposes the proposals for the period after 1971. The Ministry

of Defence suggest that the Defence Secretary's approval should

be sought after the briefs have been cleared by the U.K. Chiefs

of Staff and that we should inform the Foreign and Commonwealth

Secretary at the same time.

RECOMMENDATION

2.

I recommend that we can agree generally with the proposed

brief; but that, on a point of detail, we should suggest that the

second sentence of para.9 of the brief should be altered to

read "There has always been some civilian representation in the

ANZAM structure and the implications of the Australian suggestion

are not yet clear".

23 LP 1759

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Levet

/BACKGROUND