TNAG-1147-FCO40-1427-UK-policy-towards-South-East-Asia--including-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 26

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Giffard

PS/Lord Belstead

HIRR 02/1

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HEADS OF MISSION CONFERENCE, BANGKOK, 13 - 14 DECEMBER 28

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1. With my minute to PS/Lord Belstead of 26 November, I attached a draft Agenda which Lord Belstead will no doubt wish to discuss at his briefing meeting tomorrow afternoon.

2. I now enclose a draft of an opening statement for Lord Belstead to make at the conference, the primary object of which is,having dealt with the necessary courtesies, to set the scene for the discus- sion to follow. The contents, I hope, speak for themselves. The one issue on which a decision of substance is required is how the question of the future of Hong Kong is to be dealt with. Hitherto, Sir E Youde has felt that it would be undesirable for this to appear on the conference agenda. He has now revised his opinion (Hong Kong telegram No. 1397), being now of the opinion that it would be fruitful to discuss ASEAN attitudes to Hong Kong and the undisguised hope of some ASEAN countries that uncertainty about Hong Kong's future may be wf of practical benefit to them.

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3. My own worry about including Hong Kong formally on the agenda is that this would run the risk of a prolonged discussion, which, however interesting, might not have too much practical utility; and that the casualty would be the rest of the agenda very much as happened with the Afghanistan discussion in January 1980. I have discussed with Mr Clift. Subject to Lord Belstead's views, Our joint feeling is that it would be better to stick with the concept of a brief report on his visit to Hong Kong to be added by Lord Belstead at the end of his introductory statement. We envisage that the remainder of the morning of 13 December would be reserved for the Heads of Mission to get off their chests whatever matters are causing them special preoccupation and this would offer those who have been pleading for Hong Kong to be an agenda item the chance to seek whatever guidance/instructions they feel they particularly need in the light of local interest. I am sure that Lord Belstead would wish to be able to say in Hong Kong that he would indeed be taking the opportunity of the Heads of Mission conference to brief our represen- tatives in the area on the aspects of the Hong Kong question most relevant to their operational interests. The foregoing scenario would, I think, be entirely compatible with that. No doubt, however, it would be better to defer a reply to Sir E Youde's telegram until Lord Belstead's briefing meetings on Hong Kong today and the conference tomorrow.

Шви

K FX Burns

South East Asian Department

29 November 1982

cc. Mr Donald

JMr Clift (HKGD)

Mr Elliott (FED)

Miss Marsden (Planning Staff)

PS/PUS

CONFIDENTIAL