TNAG-0852-FCO40-1062-Visits-of-Royal-Navy-ships-to-Hong-Kong-and-China-1979 — Page 34

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

DPG 0/6/11

Mr Fursland, FED

CC:

Mr Ling, HK&GD Mr Band, EESD

Ака?

RECEIVED IN ARIARY NO. 51

- BAUG 1979

DESK OFFICES.

INFL

POSSIBLE NAVAL VISIT TO CHINA

1.

PA

Act

ра

9. We spoke about your minutes of 26 July and/1_August

2. You are correct in assuming that a major visit to China next year is formally planned as the centre-piece of a Royal Naval Task Group deployment. The MOD have now told us that the Group will consist of two destroyers, three frigates and three/four support ships. It is planned to leave the UK mid-May 1980 and to deploy to North East Asia via the Mediterranean, the Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca, returning via the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean to the UK by mid-December 1980.

3. DS5 in the MOD are on the point of formally commissioning from the Fleet Programming Staff a provisional programme for this deployment. In their commissioning letter, DS5 propose to confirm to the Fleet Programmers that the deployment can be centred around a visit to China and that the Defence Attaché in Peking may be consulted over logistical arrangements for a visit. At our request DS5 will add a caveat that at this stage no approach, either formal or informal, should be made to the Chinese.

4.

The Fleet Programmers should take three to four weeks to draft their provisonal programme. They will then submit it to DS5 who will seek FCO comments. The amended programme will then be returned to the Fleet Programmes for "firming up".

5. I do not think we need at this stage submit to Ministers seeking their approval for a visit to China, despite EESD's having jumped the gun by submitting on the question of a naval visit to the Soviet Union. In previous correspondence (resting with Alison Johns' letter of 10 April 1979 to Malcolm Haworth DS5) we have told the MOD that a visit to China in 1980 by Task Group 318.0 remains our priority. On this basis we should allow the MOD to proceed with provisional plans for the deployment as long as no approach is made to the Chinese. I suggest that we need submit to Ministers only when we receive from the MOD the draft provisonal programme. The visit to China may be only one aspect related to the deployment for which we shall have to seek Ministerial approval.

6. You cleared the attached letter to MOD in draft.

3 August 1979

CONFIDENTIAL

D W Fall

Defence Department