TNAG-0865-FCO40-1075-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1979 — Page 47

GRS 495 CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

FM UKREP ICAO MONTREAL 112300Z SEP 79

TO PRIORITY FCO

LIKE 184

407

184/1 51

कि

14 SEP 1979

•

(100

TELEGRAM NUMBER 10 OF 11 SEPTEMBER INFO PRIORITY PEKING AND HONG KONG

402

YOUR TELNO 712-TO HONG KONG AND HONG KONG TELNO 1255 TO YOU: CAAC NOTAM 19 AND AMBER ONE.

396

1. YOUR PARA 2. AS INDICATED IN MY TELNO 2 (NOT TO ALL) PRESIDENT ICAO INFORMED ME OF HIS REPRESENTATIONS TO CHINESE BEFORE I HAD ANY DIRECT INTIMATION OF PROBLEM. HE HAS WRITTEN TO CHINESE REP, ON ICAO COUNCIL (GU QIXING) RAISING BOTH THE PRACTICAL ASPECTS (COSTLY DIVERSION WASTEFUL OF FUEL) AS WELL AS THE ISSUE OF PRINCIPLE IN RELATION TO CHICAGO CONVENTION. IN CONVERSATION WITH ME ME EXPRESSED VIEW THAT IT WAS OF GREATER LONG TERM IMPORTANCE TO ICAO TO RESIST ANY UNILATERAL DECLARATIONS OF DANGER AREAS OVER HIGH SEAS OF INDEFINITE DURATION AS THEY ARE TANTAMOUNT TO AN ASSUMPTION OF SOVEREIGNTY AS FAR AS FREEDOM OF AIR TRANSIT IS CONCERNED. HE IS AWAITING A REPLY TO HIS LETTER, BUT IN PARALLEL WITH THIS ACTION THE ICAO REPRESENTATIVE IN BANGKOK HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH CAAC DIRECT. ICAO REP IN BANGKOK GOT A DUSTY ANSWER FROM CAAC THAT SINCE PEOPLES' REPUBLIC HAD NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE ICAO REGIONAL MEETING IN 1973 WHICH DETERMINED ALIGNMENT OF AMBER ONE AND WAS NOT THEREFORE BOUND TO HONOUR DECISION (MEETING TOOK PLACE AFTER TAIWAN HAD BEEN EXPELLED FROM ICAO BUT BEFORE PRC HAD MADE UP THEIR MIND TO JOIN).

2.

INFORMATION FROM ICAO BANGKOK OFFICE IS THAT CHINESE PROPOSE TO INSTALL NAVIGATIONAL AID (VOR) IN PARACELS AND TO SEEK A RE- ALIGNMENT OF AMBER ONE TO TRANSIT THAT FACILITY, PRESIDENT HAS INSTRUCTED ICAO REP BANGKOK NOT TO GIVE ANY SUPPORT TO SUCH PROPOSAL ON GROUNDS THAT VOR IS NOT OPERATIONALLY NECESSARY AND THAT PASSAGE OF AIR ROUTE OVER THE TERRITORIAL AIRSPACE OF WHOEVER OWNS THE PARACELS WOULD FUT A DANGEROUS WEAPON IN THEIR HANDS, ENABLING THEM MORE READILY TO IMPEDE TRAFFIC FLOW THAN IF ROUTE FOLLOWS PRESENT ALIGNMENT OVER HIGH SEAS. IT WOULD ALSO BE LONGER,

CONFIDENTIAL

JEONG KONG