TNAG-0864-FCO40-1074-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1980 — Page 63

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FM CANBERRA 220607Z JUN 79

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TELEGRAM NUMBER 340 OF 22 JUNE

INFO SINGAPORE, KUALA LUMPUR, MANILA, BANGKOK, JAKARTA, HONG KONG (GOVERNOR AND BCARFE), WELLINGTON, TOKYO, PEKING (FOR ROGERS).

YOUR TELEGRAM NUMBER 246 (NOT TO TOKYO): UK/AUSTRALIA AIR SERVICES 1. FIRST SECRETARY (ECONOMIC) INFORMED RAINBIRD, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT, ACCORDINGLY. RAINBIRD DOUBTED WHETHER MR GOH WAS REFLECTING VIEWS OF ALL ASEAN MINISTERS. AUSTRALIAN IMPRESSION IS THAT OTHER ASEANS HAVE NOT DECIDED TO REJECT KUALA LUMPUR PACKAGE AND INDEED THAT THEY MAY BE COMING ROUND TO ACCEPT IT. THE AUSTRALIANS ARE, HOWEVER, NOT COUNTING ANY CHICKENS.

2. RAINBIRD RECENTLY LED AN AUSTRALIAN TEAM FOR TWO DAYS OF TALKS IN JAKARTA AT INDONESIAN INVITATION. THIS STEMMED FROM THE POST- UNCTAD MEETING BETWEEN PRESIDENT SUHARTO AND MR FRAGER AT WHICH IT WAS AGREED THAT SOLUTIONS TO THE ICAP PROBLEM MUST BE FOUND. THE INDONESIANS HAD RESTATED THAT THEY HAD NO DIFFICULTIES OVER ICAP BUT THAT A SOLUTION ACCEPTABLE TO ASEAN HAD TO BE NEGOTIATED.

3. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED A FULL ACCOUNT FROM

QANTAS OF THIS WEEK'S AIRLINES MEETING IN YUALA LUMPUR, RAINBIRD THOUGHT THAT IT HAD GONE REASONABLY WELL. HOWEVER, MAS TOLD QANTAS THAT THE MALAYSIANS HAD BEEN TREATED 'ROUGHLY'' AT THE BILATERAL

TALKS IN LONDON AND THAT THEY WERE GOING TO TAKE A LEAF OUT OF SINGAPORE'S BOOK BY RALLYING ASEAN OPINION AGAINST THE UK. RAINBIRD SAID HE DID NOT KNOW IF MAS WERE REFLECTING THE VIEW OF THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT BUT, IF SO, THIS WAS CLEARLY DISCOURAGING.

4. SIGNIFICANTLY SIA INVITED THE LEADER OF THE QANTAS TEAM TO LUNCH IN SINGAPORE EN ROUTE TO AUSTRALIA. SIA SAID THAT THEY WANTED THE ICAP PROBLEM TO BE SETTLED AND THAT IN PRACTICE ICAP HAD NOT DAMAGED THEIR INTERESTS AS MUCH AS THEY HAD EXPECTED. THE QANTAS LEADER TOOK NOTE OF THE SIA SUGGESTION THAT THE TWO AIRLINES SHOULD MEET TO

DISCUSS THE ISSUES.

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