TNAG-1163-FCO40-1443-Visits-by-FCO-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 29

CONFIDENTIAL

IMPRESSIONS OF ASIA (NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1981)

Purpose of the Tour

1. The aim of my tour of Asia (itinerary at Annex 1) was to obtain an up-to-date glimpse of a region which I had not visited for sixteen

years. The fact that I covered twelve countries in seven weeks

means that this report can do no more than give impressions;

if some

of these appear superficial, or even mistaken, to my erstwhile hosts or indeed to others who may read these paragraphs I hope they will be moved to write and set me on the right track. I propose to deal with general economic and social matters, where perhaps the greatest

changes are taking place, and secondly with political attitudes and developments. A list of people I talked with will be found in Annex 2 and a brief look at each stage of the tour is given at Annex 3.

But first a word on the reasons I went where I did.

2. Peking's claim for inclusion was compelling in view of the importance of Chinese influence in South-East Asia. Seoul, too, for the interest it has shown over the past year in ASEAN, quite apart from the opportunity to visit members of the Research Department stationed there. Hong Kong was of interest not only because of its position vis-a-vis China but also because of the

Vietnamese boat-people who continue to find refuge in its camps. Brunei, in transition from protected state to full independence, has attracted me since my years in South-East Asian Department when I worked on the Anglo-Brunei Treaty. Jakarta, capital of the largest power in South-East Asia and seat of the ASEAN Secretariat, I was not able to visit during my secondment to SEATO (1963-65) because of "Confrontation". This seemed a good opportunity to rectify the omission. Bangkok is hardly avoidable in any tour of South East Asia and, with Thailand now a "front line state" in the Cambodia imbroglio, I thought it wise to make one of my longest stops there. By comparison my stay in Hanoi was short (12 days), largely because of the peculiarities of the local airline schedules. Even this was sufficient, however, to obtain an indelible picture of the weakened state of the Vietnamese economy.

CONFIDENTIAL

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