1
CONFIDENTIAL
SPEECH BY LORD PEART
BACKGROUND NOTES
1.
For some time there has been considerable pressure from industry, press and parliamentary sources for the Government to take a more positive attitude towards the sale of military equipment to China. In December 1975, Mr Robert Adley MP initiated debate in the Commons on the sale of Harrier to China: the record of the debate is
attached at Annex A.
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2. There are certainly strong industrial and commercial grounds for such sales, and in strategic terms the Chinese are not a direct threat to UK security and should not be treated in the same category as the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. This speech will therefore be listened to by interested parties in the UK for signs of greater willingness on the part of HMC to agree to arms sales to China. The Chinese will no doubt also be looking for hints of the British Government's attitude; but so will our
Allies - most particularly the Americans some of whom have legitimate worries about any increase in Chinese military capability. So also will the Russians: the Soviet Ambassador called on Dr Owen on 28 November 1977 to express disquiet about the possibility of Britain selling Harrier to China. The Government's policy on this subject is currently under review. This debate therefore comes at an awkward moment, since it is too soon to publicise a new considered policy. It will therefore be necessary to do little more than re-
state the Government's views which will be well known to those
interested in the subject.
3. A paper has been commissioned by the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs and Defence to analyse the general policy implications of defence sales to China. This paper
will be submitted to Ministers soon, The conclusion which
the current draft reaches is that in general our policy
should be to promote arms sales to China within the limits
of what the British Government believe to be acceptable in
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