TNAG-0747-FCO40-951-Visits-of-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 176

CODE 18-77

$$ 10/76

Mr Samuel

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK 026/1

7 1 MAR 1978

PA

Reference

py Thospoon f

R3073.

FAMILIARISATION TOUR OF THE FEAST 20 FEBRUARY - 14 MARCH

1.

As a newcomer to the area, it is hardly appropriate for me to set out my impressions of the Far East at length following a brief familiarisation tour relatively early in my time as Assistant in FED. However, I went with my eyes and ears open and was shown great kindness and patience by all three embassies, as well as those I met in Hong Kong. I tried to learn as much as possible, and I hope I shall remember some of it.

2. The attached separate annexes on each country set out a number of random thoughts which occured to me during or after my stay in the three countries and which may be worth following up in correspondence or in action this end. Often I have mentioned in passing, or not at all, the main points of concern to FED and posts. This is because we are continuously dealing with these matters and any new points which I learned can be fed in directly in the normal way. Mr Crowe has already reported on the Planning Talks in Tokyo and some of our conversations in Seoul. Some other points are being pursued separately.

3. Overall, two main points struck me. The countries in the area (particularly Japan and Korea, but to some extent China) seem to be in the process of re-examining their policies towards the United States, partly as a result of the end of the Nixon era and partly as a consequence of the American withdrawal from Vietnam. The new elements seem to be a greater degree of self reliance and diversification in addition to traditional allies and areas of interest. Both trends offer Europe in general and Britain in particular, commercial opportunities. It is of course harder for us to respond effectively to the offer of a more substantial political relationship. There may, however, be opportunities to benefit from the increase in cultural exchanges and the potential for a greater inter-change of people, especially students, and ideas.

4. One major exception to the difficulty of deepening our bilateral political relationships seems to me to lie in the field of politico-military relations with Japan. The Embassy's reports on the degree to which it has now become respectable to talk openly about defence matters in Japan was underlined during my visit by exchanges in the Diet and articles in the press. This greater degree of openness obviously provides opportunities both for defence sales and for closer relations between our own armed services and the Japanese self defence forces. It also seems to me to provide an opportunity to start a politico-military dialogue with the Japanese and a reflection of the exchanges which we regularly conduct with the old Commonwealth, our major European partners, and of course the Americans. It would have to begin quite modestly but I think that the sort of exchanges which the Assessment Staff and/or FCC under secretaries have with their opposite numbers on the threats to certain regions of the world and how to counter them, might gradually be extended to include talks with the Japanese. There would, of course, be problems

CONFIDENTIAL

/over