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CONFIDENTIAL
continue to comply with
This
international maritime conventions.
will be essential if the new register is to retain international
need to be
arrangements
will probably
respectability.
Such
discussed with the Chinese in
the Chinese in the JLG before approaches are made to
the international organisations concerned.
6.
that
A sensitive issue not covered in the consultative paper is
whether ships registered on a separate Hong Kong register would be
subject to
to requisition in time of war by the Crown under the Royal
told Prerogative (or legislation which might reinforce it). We have the Hong Kong Government
UK legislation would be needed to renounce the powers of the Prerogative. Politically this would be impossible, given current parliamentary pressures to ensure that HMG has access to adequate shipping in times of war ог other emergency.
The Hong Kong Government have with s ome reluctance accepted that HMG's power to requisition remains. In practice however the extent
to which it might be used against Hong Kong ships would be affected
by:
(i)
the fact that these are likely to be further away from the UK
than ships registered in other UK dependent territories;
(ii)
the extent to which they are owned by PRC interests; and
(iii)
7.
of
to
in
sensitivity which will the political
increasingly attach
the requisition of Hong Kong ships as 1997 approaches.
(Since the Chinese regard Hong Kong as part of China, ev en
advance of 1997, and Hong Kong BDTCs as Chinese nationals, requisition of ships owned by such persons in Hong Kong could well be regarded by Peking as requisition by the Chinese ships in Chinese territory).
UK
of
to cover,
The Home Office have recently informed us that, in the event emergency, special legislation which has been drafted inter alia, enhanced powers of requisition, would only be extended
in Council after consultation
to
Order Hong Kong by
Earlier they had proposed automatic extension.
with us.
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