TNAG-0781-FCO40-985-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1978 — Page 99

RS 330

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK 184/1

2 7 NOV 1978

CONFIDENTIAL

RECEIVED

FM PEKING 250810Z NOV 78

TO FLASH FCO

TELNO 840 OF 25 NOV

AND FLASH HONG KONG

INDIA

lad دلم

on T

RY

Ten

CLE

1066

INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE, LONDON

(63

264

YOUR TELNOS: 739 AND 740 AND HONG KONG TELNO 1356 TO. YOU: AIR SERVICES

1.

WHILE UNDERSTANDING HONG KONG'S WISH TO RESPOND RAPIDLY AND FAVOURABLY TO THE LATEST CHINESE REQUEST, I CANNOT HELP BUT SEE LOCAL FLIGHTS TO AND FROM HONG KONG AND FLIGHTS BETWEEN CAPITALS AS PARTS OF THE SAME COMPLEX, WHICH SHOULD NOW BE HANDLED AS ONE, IF WE ARE TO EXTRACT FULL BENEFIT ` FROM IT. 1 THEREFORE CONSIDER IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE FOR AN APPROACH TO BE MADE EITHER HERE OR IN LONDON, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT HONG KONG'S VIEWS.

2. 1 ALSO AGREE THAT WE SHOULD ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE THE CHINESE THAT THESE SERVICES SHOULD BE REGARDED AS SCHEDULED, OR FAILING THAT, THAT WE SHOULD PUT DOWN A MARKER THAT WE EXPECT SOME QUID PRO QUO FOR AGREEMENT TO ALLOW THE CONTIN-

IT UATION OF CHARTER FLIGHTS FOR ANOTHER THREE MONTHS. SEEMS TO ME THAT OUR GENERAL POSITION WOULD BE MUCH WEAKENED IF WE CONTINUED TO AGREE TO CHINESE REQUESTS FOR LOCAL FLIGHTS ON VIRTUALLY THEIR OWN TERMS.

3. I AGREE WITH PARAGRAPH 3 OF HONG KONG'S TUR THAT THE CHINESE WISH TO DEAL WITH THESE FLIGHTS AS A LOCAL MATTER AND AS NON-SCHEDULED FLIGHTS AND THAT BOTH POINTS MAKE SENSE - BUT THEY MAKE SENSE, I THINK, FROM A CHINESE POINT

NOR DO I THINK THAT IN THE OF VIEW, RATHER THAN OURS.

PRESENT CLIMATE ACTION AS YOU PROPOSE WOULD INVOLVE RISK TO OVER-FLIGHT OF CHINA'S TERRITORIAL WATERS OR TO GENERAL GOODWILL. THE CHINESE MUST EXPECT THAT IF WE GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT ON LOCAL FLIGHTS WE ARE LIKELY TO SEEK

SOME RETURN.

CONFIDENTIAL

4. IF AN IMMEDIATE

ان سالم مافي احد های بین السلالات