TNAG-1518-FCO40-2079-Hong-Kong-International-Airport-1986 — Page 14

CONFIDENTIAL

布政司署

香港下亞厘畢道

FI KEMON

** OUR REF.:

來函檔號 YOUR REF.:

"

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

19 November 1986

Clinton Leeks Esq

Hong Kong Department, Foreign Commonwealth Office

Downing Street

London

Dear Clinton,

Declassification of the Hong Kong Low Flying Chart

A new edition of the above chart (example enclosed) is scheduled for printing at the end of November.

The Commander Royal Air Force Hong Kong and Civil Aviation Department have long been pressing for the chart's declassification so that civil fliers may use it. It is clearly desirable in terms of flight safety for all fliers to use the same chart. At present civil fliers in HK (eg members of the Aviation Club, commercial helicopter pilots etc) use a chart which is totally inadequate. It cannot be used to plot positions since it is not marked with the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grid. Also the scale of the chart (1:200,000) is less accurate than that of the military chart (1:100,000).

This means The margin of error for such a scale is quite large. that civil fliers can stray by mistake into flying areas they should not enter.

All Government Branches consulted agree that in principle the chart should be declassified. Before this is done, we have proposed that the following changes be made to the chart to "sanitise" it. This is considered necessary since although the chart will only be made available to civil fliers through Air Traffic Control Sek Kong it could get into Chinese hands. We do not wish our position on the boundary or territorial waters to be prejudiced in any way as a result.

a)

b)

The words "Hong Kong and New Territories ('UK')" and "Peoples Republic of China" on either side of the "Box" boundary and the land boundary should be removed;

A marginal note should be added to the effect that all limits and boundaries shown are primarily for military purposes and that civilian users should refer to the Aeronautical Information Publication for details of limits to civilian flying;

c) The following standard disclaimer should be

retained in the new version. "Maps produced under the direction of the Military Survey are not to be taken as necessarily representing the view of the

CONFIDENTIAL

/UK.