TNAG-0715-FCO40-911-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-4 — Page 67

JEZ 014/1

Reference

76

CONFIDENTIAL

2111

Mr Quantrill (HKGD)

POLICY TOWARDS DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

691.

In your minute of 10 October covering a draft despatch on our policy towards our remaining dependent territories you raised the question whether the annex to the despatch should include mention of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

2. BIOT is clearly odd man out among our dependent territories. As a territory established specifically to cater for long term UK and US defence needs and depopulated as a matter of policy in order to avoid any future prejudice to these needs, its future is not bound up with that of UK dependent territories in general, and our general policy is clearly not of any direct relevance to BIOT. At the same time I believe it worthwhile to include reference to the Territory in your proposed despatch. In part simply for the sake of completeness,

:

In addition, BIOT may attract

increasing publicity, because of the way it came into being (detachment from an existing dependent territory and removal of the local population) and because of increasing Third World pressure for the "Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace" proposal.

3. I attach a draft.

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED

UNTIL

EXEMPTION No ??

27.(9.)(c) (d).....

23 October 1978

N Claybe

UNDER FOI

Hicc 025/2

нка

RECEIV

DESA INDEX

No

R.5. Rating

PE Rosling

SEY NO. 51

1 4 NOV 1978

$

East African Department

EQISTRY

Action Taken

24/111 ex

This is helpful, though I am not ze that we need

anything quite so detailed.

8224/10

CODE 18-77

люти

CONFIDENTIAL