TNAG-0331-FCO40-367-Visits-of-Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Af-1972 — Page 6

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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Sleg: Well it has been a long-standing apprehension of course of the Theis that the infiltration in the North of Thailand could becono a great deal more serious as the years go by. So again one will have the opportunity of talking

ཧཱུྃ་.

about this, Of course the Americans give Thailand a great deal of military help and assistance. I remember talding part in the 1962 Goneve conferenca

end the aim there was of course the noutrality of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia

and thio would have ectod as a shield to Thailand.

She is more exposed as

long as this war goes on. I think we would hope and I think the Thais would hope too, that this conception of non-alignment of these three countries would be re-established. This would of course give Thailand the greatest security

she could get.

Certainly again, one will be talking about the security

problem with the Thai ministers.

1

Quastion: Do you see any possible hope in the fact that the North VietnamÉJO have not in any formal sense rejected the latest proposals by President Nixon

for a negotiat od!

·

settlement of the Vietnam var?

This war could go

'Sir Alec: One must always hope in these circumstances.

on endlessly unless there is a negotiated settlement. The latest US proposals were very positive, well defined; no doubt the North Vietnamese will take song time to give a considered view upon them. Their tendency is to reject them.

Nevertheless I would have thought that the American proposals deserve a very

careful consideration and they would be strongly in the interests of the poopla

of South East Asia as a whole.

Question: Moving on to your next port of call, Hong Kong, Foreign Secretary,

posed at present between Hong Kong and Britain relates

One of the issuer

I beleive to textiles and the problem of Hong Kong not getting what it hoped

i.e. a quota free market here in Tagland as it envisaged.

on this point to Hong Kong when you go there?

}

Can you take any comfort

Siz Alag: I will obviously be talking to people in Hong Kong about this and with the government and councils. They are very concerned to feintain of compue

their income from textiles and I will look forward to hearing their point of

View. I think Hong Kong is one of the most miraculous achievedents of man

and their wealth and the way they apply it is really quite extraordinary.

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