TNAG-0743-FCO40-947-Relations-between-China-and-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 121

CONFIDENTIAL

SCR 26/5061/49 VI

J T Masefield Esq

Far Eastern Department

F CO

181

25 October, 1978.

A Thompson 8231/10

HKK coli

RECEIVED ARTOSED 2.51

ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF CHINESE TERRITORIAL WATERS BY US WARSHIP

OFFICER

RE

INDEX

A

Action Taken

No

&

We had an odd shipping incident the other day. Early in the morning of 12 October the US destroyer, HAROLD E HOLT, was coming into Hong Kong from the South- east, using the Lema Channel (between Po Toi and the Chinese Lema Islands), when she received a garbled flashing light signal from a Chinese shore station on Tan Kan Shan Island which lies to the south of the channel. The ship replied with the standard international call sign. Three minutes later the Chinese station signalled "You have intruded into our territorial waters. Leave at once". In accordance with what I understand are standing orders of the US 7th Fleet, the ship maintained its course and replied "Your waters not violated by this ship. I am operating on the high seas". There was no further exchange of signals.

2.

The Americans told us about this incident and also showed us the ship's charts which demonstrated quite clearly that the nearest point of approach to the Chinese island had been 3.8 nautical miles. The ship was using one of the two standard approaches to Hong Kong for international shipping and was well on the Hong Kong side of the centre of the channel.

3.

We were puzzled by this incident. It is many years since US or other ships have received such warnings; indeed, so long ago that we have not yet been able to trace a previous case. However, I seem to remember that such incidents were common with both naval and merchant ships in the 1950s.

4.

The initial American assessment, with which we concurred, was that the incident had been an aberration, possibly due to the presence on the Chinese island of some new troops. with our agreement, the USS HAROLD E HOLT made the return journey using precisely the same course on 17 October.

/contd...

CONFIDENTIAL