TNAG-0852-FCO40-1062-Visits-of-Royal-Navy-ships-to-Hong-Kong-and-China-1979 — Page 7

CODF

18 77

Mr Fursland, FED, K255

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

tere 076/1.

--

13 NOV 1979

募集

cc:

Mr Band, EESD, W103

Mr Williamson, HK&GD, K242

13.12.

No

RIMR

13/11

27

ROYAL NAVY VISITS TO CHINA

1. Please refer to Captain Coward's letter of 30 October to Alison Johns (copy attached).

2. I should be grateful to know the position on the proposed CNS visit to China and how close we are to consulting Ministers. The MOD will no doubt raise this issue at the Chiefs of Staff's working party meeting next week.

3.

I should also be grateful to know whether we can now proceed on the question of the proposed visit to China by RN Task Group 318.0. Planning for such visits must be made well in advance and MOD advise that time is now running short.

MOD are also seeking our views on the question of an RN visit to a Soviet port which we agreed would be put to Ministers at the same time as the China proposal.

4.

13 November 1979

Defau li

D W Fall

Defence Department

CONFIDENTIAL