TNAG-0779-FCO40-983-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1978 — Page 16

DSR TIC

Paragraphs 9 and 10

Alternatives to the Australian

proposal. None are satisfactory.

RECOMMENDATION

3. The Australian proposals offer undoubted economic

and social benefits, but politically there are some

disadvantages: Singapore and Malaysia are likely

to be upset, the former especially, and there is some

risk that the countries concerned would gang up to block

the scheme. It is difficult to predict how they would

react in advance of any approach to them and thus

difficult to decide how to respond to the Australians.

It would be unwise to give an unqualified agreement

in principle. At the other extreme, there can be no

at this stage

question of turning down the proposal. That would

provoke a sharp reaction from the Australians and would

have an adverse effect on our bilateral air service

and perhaps wider relations with them. It would be best

to be reasonably forthcoming, provided that we preserve

the ability to retreat if the reaction of third countries

is unexpectedly tough and in particular if they gang up to

block the scheme.

4. We recommend the Australians should as soon as possible

be given a written answer on the lines of the attached

draft and should be told orally that we would have no

objection to the Australians showing it to the

third countries they approached if they asked what the UK

reaction had been.