TNAG-0834-FCO40-1042-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Office-seminar-on-the-future-of-Bri-1979 — Page 53

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statehood was in any case envisaged only as a transitional stage

between dependence and full statehood, and with most of the

Associated States already independent or on their way to becoming

so, the experiment has clearly justified itself. But it has also

shown the risks we run in accepting responsibility without power.

This was most clearly shown in the recent case of the company based

in one of the Associated States that was apparently engaged in

selling arms to South Africa in breach of the UN embargo.

Although

Fortunately there

we were responsible for the state's external relations, and thus

answerable to the UN, we found that our power to intervene in what

was happening within the state was very limited.

have not been many such cases, but the danger of serious embarrass-

ment, not to mention actual harm to our international interests, has

always been there, and we should not expose ourselves to the same

risks again.

I hope that these remarks will have suggested some

questions that we might profitably consider tomorrow.

I do not want

to anticipate the fuller debate, but if there are any immediate

questions, particularly if they relate to existing policies rather

than policies that we might adopt, I should be glad to try and

answer them.