TNAG-0863-FCO40-1073-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1979 — Page 60

GRS 37

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

FM CANBERRA 298550Z MAR 79

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

HKK

RECEIVED

DESK OF INDEX

2

181

184/1 да

по

J2.

2.4

1.

TELEGRAM NUMBER 188 OF 29 MARCH 1979

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

MY TELEGRAM NUMBER 186: UK/AUSTRALIA AIR SERVICES.

1. ROWLAND TOLD FIRST SECRETARY (ECONOMIC) TODAY THAT NO FIRM DECISIONS HAD YET BEEN TAKEN BY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT ON HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE HONG KONG PACKAGE, IN THE RECENT PAST MR NIXON HAD BEEN INCLINED TO THE VIEW THAT AT LEAST ONE BILATERAL AGREEMENT ON FARES BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND AN ASEAN COUNTRY SHOULD BE IN PLACE FIRST. ROWLAND'S PERSONAL OPINION WAS THAT THE AUSTRALIANS WOULD WANT TO ''MAKE A FIRST PASS'' WITH THE ASEAN COUNTRIES TO OBTAIN A FIRM INDICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN/ASEAN FARE STRUCTURES THEY WOULD FINALLY AGREE TO. MR. NIXON MIGHT FEEL THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO

THEN GO AHEAD WITH THE HONG KONG PACKAGE. THIS SCENARIO WOULD IMPLY

AN ANNOUNCEMENT IN ABOUT MID-APRIL. ROWLAND THOUGHT ONE POSSIBILITY

WOULD BE TO ANNOUNCE THE APEX FARES ON THE HONG KONG ROUTE FIRST WITH

THE REST OF THE STRUCTURE LATER. THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT ARE

· FULLY SEIZED OF THE URGENCY BUT ARE CONCERNED THAT THE HONG KONG PACKAGE AND THE EVENTUAL AUSTRALIA/ASEAN FARE SETTLEMENTS SHOULD BE COMPATIBLE. ROWLAND IS BRIEFING HALTON TODAY ABOUT HONG KONG.

2. AT THE JAKARTA MEETING AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS STATED THAT THE ASEAN PROPOSALS ON APEX AND GIT FARES WERE BROADLY ACCEPTABLE. THE PROBLEMS

YET TO BE RESOLVED ARE:

1. THE ASEANS' WISH TO LEAVE FIRST AND ECONOMY FARES AT PRESENT LEVELS WHEREAS THE AUSTRALIANS WISH TO RAISE THE FORMER AND LOWER

THE LATTER:

CONFIDENTIAL.

II. THE

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