CONFIDENTIAL
065075 MDLIAN 8970
EDUCATION AND THE COUNCIL'S DIRECTOR GENERAL. A POSSIBLE VISIT BY THE PRIME MINISTER IN AUGUST, AND OUR PARTICIPATION IN A POSSIBLE EARLY FPDA MINISTERIAL MEETING WILL FURTHER UNDERLINE OUR INTEREST
AND INVOLVEMENT.
4.
THE MESSAGE WHICH YOU CONVEYED PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY REINFORCED THE VALIDITY OF THE CARDINAL POINT BRITAIN'S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND, THEREFORE, OUR VALUE AS A PARTNER IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY/INVESTMENT. THOSE WHOM YOU MET CONSISTENTLY WELCOMED MORE INVOLVEMENT ON OUR PART BOTH FOR ITS OWN SAKE AND AS A NECESSARY COUNTER WEIGHT TO MASSIVE JAPANESE AND AMERICAN INVESTMENT HERE. (SEE ALSO MIPT.)
JAPAN
5. ON THE POLITICAL SIDE,
DHANABALAN WAS OBVIOUSLY PLEASED BY WHAT YOU
SAID ABOUT OUR OWN
EFFORTS TO SUSTAIN JAPANESE INTEREST IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD AND PREVENT THEM LOOKING ONLY TO THE AMERICANS.
PHILIPPINES
6.
I ALSO DETECTED AN EVEN GREATER THAN CUSTOMARY ANXIETY IN LEE KUAN YEW AND DHANABALAN'S REMARKS ABOUT THE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES. THEY HAVE, OF COURSE, BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT MRS AQUINO'S ABILITY TO SURVIVE EVER SINCE SHE ASSUMED POWER. BUT LEE'S REMARKS ABOUT THE PRESENT POSITION (PARA 9 OF MY TELNO 217) WENT A GOOD DEAL FURTHER THAN USUAL EVEN BY HIS OWN, CHARACTERISTICALLY PESSIMISTIC,
IS UNWILLING OR STANDARDS. HE IS CLEARLY PERSUADED THAT IF THE US UNABLE TO MOVE FASTER TO BOLSTER CONFIDENCE (EG BY CREATING SOMETHING ANALOGOUS TO A WHITE AREA'' DURING THE MALAYAN EMERGENCY IN ONE OF THE FILIPINO PROVINCES) TIME WILL QUICKLY RUN OUT FOR MRS AQUINO. BUT NEITHER LEE, NOR ANYONE ELSE HERE, WAS ABLE TO SUGGEST ANYTHING POSITIVE WHICH ASEAN, OR OTHER OUTSIDERS, THE US OBVIOUSLY APART, CAN DO TO HELP.
FPDA
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL
2
THIS IS A COPY THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN
CLOSED UNDER
NO. 27.(1.). (2)
FOI EXEMPTION NO.
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