TNAG-0863-FCO40-1073-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1979 — Page 203

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FM CANBERRA Ø60715Z FEB 70°

TO IMMEDIATE KUALA LUMPUR

TELEGRAM NUMBER 003 OF 6 FEBRUARY

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INFO IMMEDIATE SINGAPORE, PRIORITY JAKARTA, BANGKOK, MANILA, HONG KONG (GOVERNOR AND BCARFE) AND ROUTINE WELLINGTON,

MY TELEGRAM NO 002: UK/AUSTRALIAN AIR SERVICES.

1. HAVING CONSULTED THE DFA ABOUT THE SUGGESTION IN SINGAPORE TEL TO THE FCO NO 71 THAT ROGERS SHOULD PUT THE SINGAPOREANS IN THE PICTURE IN THE SAME WAY AS THE MALAYSIANS, ROWLAND TOLD ATTEWELL TODAY THAT AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS WERE QUOTE TROUBLED UNQUOTE BY THIS SUGGESTION. AUSTRALIA WAS COMMITTED TO MEETING THE ASEAN COUNTRIES AS A GROUP AND OFFICIALS IN CANBERRA WERE ACTIVELY DISCUSSING THE VENUE, AGENDA AND LEVEL, AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS FEARED THAT IF ROGERS WERE TO FLOAT GENTLY THE QUOTE IDEAS UNQUOTE WITH THE SINGAPOREANS, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO ORCHESTRATE THE ASEAN RESPONSE IN ADVANCE OF THE PROPOSED AUSTRALIAN/ASEAN MEETING. THE SINGAPOREANS HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR IN CONCERTING ASEAN ATTITUDES AND THE AUSTRALIANS FELT THAT BILATERAL. UK/SINGAPORE DISCUSSION MIGHT BE PREJUDICIAL TO THE PROPOSED MEETING, A RISK THAT WOULD PRESENT STILL FURTHER PROBLEMS IF AUSTRALIA WERE TO MEET THE ASEANS AT MINISTERIAL LEVEL. THE AUSTRALIANS WOULD BE

LEFT WITHOUT FRESH CARDS.

2. ROWLAND FELT THAT ROGERS' TALKS WITH THE MALAYSIANS WERE IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY AND COULD RESULT IN SOME USEFUL GUIDANCE ON ASEAN

ATTITUDES.

3.

ROWL AND LARGELY REPEATED WHAT HE TOLD ME LAST EVENING AS REPORTED IN PARA 3 OF MY TUR. HE ADDED THAT THE FIGURES QUOTED IN YESTERDAY'S

THE AUSTRALIAN HAD NOT BEEN PICKED UP ELSEWHERE IN THE PRESS, THROUGHOUT THE ICAP STORY FIGURES HAD BEEN BANDIED ABOUT IN THE PRESS AND AS YESTERDAY'S FIGURES HAD NOT BEEN CONFIRMED THE SINGAPOREANS COULD NOT BE CERTAIN THEY WERE ACCURATE. ROWLAND ENDED BY SAYING THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR AUSTRALIA TO ENDORSE THE SUGGESTION (IN THE SINGAPORE TUR), PARTICULARLY WITH THE MULTILATERAL MEETING IN PROSPECT, BUT QUITE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE UK HAD THEIR OWN RIGHTS IN TE MATTER AND WERE INTITLED TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION ON HOW TO PROCEED. ROWLAND WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO KNOW WHAT ROGERS DECIDES TO DO.

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