TNAG-1177-FCO40-1479-Air-services-between-Hong-Kong-and-South-East-Asia-1982 — Page 26

布政司署

香港下亞風華道

*RM OUR REF.: CR 7/951/57 VI

* YOUR REF.:

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CONFIDENTIAL t

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GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD HONG KONG

8

MKK 184/2

D Tonkin Esq CMG HANOI

Dear Derek,

28 September 1982

rec HRED

MAED

Af?27/16 see Stevens (DOT) letter of 4 October.

VIETNAM: HO CHI MINH FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION

I am sorry you have not had an earlier reply to your letter 184/1 of 26 August reporting the Vietnamese authorities wish to resume control of the former Saigon

FIR.

2.

NIR

From a strictly civil aviation point of view the Vietnamese proposal causes no particular difficulty for Hong Kong. Indeed, Civil Aviation Department would in many ways welcome being relieved of this burden. The Malaysian Consulate here have been in touch with us and have expressed concern that the Vietnamese will demand extortionate fees. But provided the proposal was generally acceptable, and the Vietnamese could satisfy ICAO that they had the technical capacity to control the Ho Chi Minh FIR safely we should not wish to object.

3.

There is, however, a political dimension to the Vietnamese request, and this has an important bearing on the way it is handled. The main point is that the Ho Chi Minh FIR includes air space above the disputed Paracel Islands. The Chinese might well make difficultion about Vietnam exercising air traffic control over this alr space. If Hong Kong were to negotiate direct with Vietnam through civil aviation channels, we could find ourselves caught in the middle of a row over disputed territory. This is something we can do without: Hong Kong interest is to keep as low a profile as possible.

the

CONFIDENTIAL

4.

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