TNAG-1341-FCO40-17721-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Beijing-fo-1985 — Page 116

-14-

QUESTION (ECONOMIST & WASHINGTON POST)

Why your Government feels assured of China's commitment

to this Treaty does not need reiteration, but I think we need,

for the record, to know what will your Government do if the

terms of this Agreement are abused or broken. In short, are

you prepared to defend this pact as you did in the Falklands

and by what means?

PRIME MINISTER

I believe this Agreement will be honoured. I believe

that firmly. If, by any chance, any question arose under the

Agreement, naturally a signatory to it would raise the matter

with the Chinese Government. If they had anything to raise

with us, naturally they would raise it with us. That is the

normal procedure under an agreement. The signatories raise

matters with one another.

QUESTION

Are you prepared to go further to defend this?

PRIME MINISTER

I have indicated that if there is anything to raise

under the Agreement, then of course we would raise it in the

normal way, but I believe it will be fully honoured.

Can I say to you: in 1997,

would automatically return to China.

92% of the Territory