SECRET
we might leave our bases in Cyprus. He has, however, so far
made no direct representations to us. Finally, the Government
of Cyprus is at present a rather unrepresentative body which
may not survive a constitutional re-organisation. The Sub-
Committee will, therefore, wish to consider whether in
addition to the United States and NATO we ought also to consult:
a.
CENTO;
b.
the Shah of Iran; and
C.
the present Government of Cyprus,
Greece. Turkey'
X
Oman
11.
Disengagement from Oman involves a complex of inter-acting
arguments. There is, however, general agreement on the line
we should adopt in our initial approach to the Americans except
on one point concerning our facilities at Masirah. The
Ministry of Defence favours seeking to relinquish them
completely as soon as they are no longer required to support
our forces deployed in the Far East. The FCO, however, are
understood to favour the retention of the intelligence
facilities. Such an arrangement, if it proved negotiable, might
well entail retaining some military presence to provide support
and cover for these facilities. This question is one which
could usefully be discussed by the Committee.
Mauritius
12. We have a commitment to consult with the Mauritian
Covernment in the event of either external aggression or
internal unrest. If we withdrew, as the Steering Committee
paper proposes, and Ministers have accepted, our forces from
the island by 1976, the commitment if continued would inevitably
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.