TNAG-0843-FCO40-1053-Visit-of-Lord-Carrington--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-1979 — Page 190

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VISIT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE FAR EAST AND WASHINGTON (CENTO MINISTERIAL MEETING), 7-19 APRIL, 1979

1. As you know, from our frequent conversations on this subject, Conference Section for some time has been looking into as many options as possible on travel, timing and costs, especially since the dates offered by the Chinese have become known.

2. The Secretary of State cannot leave the UK before 7 April and if the CENTO Ministerial Meeting takes place in Washington as scheduled, he must arrive there by the evening of 17 April.

3. There is no scheduled British air service to Peking at present and as the Secretary of State presumably wishes to arrive there in a British aircraft, it will either have to be chartered or diverted from a normal British Airways flight (see paragraph below).

4. The RAF estimate that to use one of their VC10s for the round trip would cost £81,000 minimum (worked out on 61 flying hours). It could get the Secretary of State to Peking via Hong Kong, taking 21 hours 15 minutes (refuelling at Bahrain and Colombo) plus 7 hours time difference, with a further 3 hours 15 minutes (no time difference) flying time from Hong Kong to Peking. A Chinese radio operator and a navigator would have to board the aircraft at Hong Kong.

5. The most direct means of flying to Peking would be via Bahrain and Islamabad, flying time 18 hours, plus 7 hours time difference = 25 hours. This would be subject to flight clearance into China by this means and of course rule out the recommended visit to Hong Kong first.

6. The Ambassador in Peking telegram 149 comments that if the Secretary of State came in his own aircraft this "would free you from the rather inflexible international and domestic airlines time-tables". For previous visits by our Foreign Secretaries and other Ministers which we have handled, the Chinese have always offered to provide aircraft for the internal air flights (eg for Mr Crosland's visit in 1976) and I wonder if even now they would take kindly to the idea of an RAF aircraft doing more than setting the party down at Peking and picking them up again at say Shanghai, as on past occasions.

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