committed to progress towards freer markets and the achievement of
them through GATT.
16. Moving away from the Community for the moment, I should expand
on the UK's role in NATO, the Alliance which has seen, and no doubt been responsible for peace for the whole of its existence: it celebrates its forthieth birthday this year. This Government has
been a vigorous and constructive member of that Alliance throughout the last decade, a decade which has been vital in giving us greater
hope for East-West relations as we move towards the 21st Century. Throughout this time, despite the siren voices of the so-called "Peace Movements", the UK has remained a firm proponent of preserving peace through strength, of looking clearly at the facts of the security equation rather than introducing speculative and hypothetical factors which lead only to instability and danger. Alliance's determination to maintain and where necessary to build adequate defences has led to the arms control achievements of today, such as that on INF and the seriousness with which strategic nuclear
forces and conventional forces are being discussed in Geneva and
Vienna.
The
17. A policy of protecting freedom by using one's common sense is exactly that which we have advocated throughout and which we will continue to pursue into the next decade.
18.
No survey, however selective, of Britain's achievements in the
international arena over the last decade could overlook the
agreement on the future of Hong Kong when our lease comes to an end
in 1997. I have recently been giving evidence on Hong Kong to the
Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and was once again trying to convey the scale of what is being achieved in Hong Kong. All those involved in the Hong Kong situation have everything to
gain by looking at the facts of what the people of Hong Kong have achieved one of the most dynamic and thriving trade centres in the world and preserving that achievement. To do just that requires common sense. And, as always, common sense means giving people
freedom. This is our pragmatic philosophy which we promote wherever
we have dealings around the world. This is the message I wwould
leave with those who read this article.
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