TNAG-2110-FCO40-3009-Hong-Kong-participation-in-international-organisations-1990 — Page 303

A

agree. A draft telegram of instructions to the Open Skies

to follow | Delegation in Ottawa is attached.

once. comments recenied

C

Background and Argument

3. The question of what territory outside national borders should be included in an Open Skies regime has not previously been

NATO

addressed. The 'Basic Elements paper declared that "all the

territories of the participating states in North America and Asia,

as well as in Europe, will be open to aerial observation". The

Western treaty text that was tabled at the Open Skies conference in Ottawa on 16 February envisages listing the territory to be included

for each state in an annex. The UK delegation at the Ottawa conference have now asked for instructions on the scope of UK territory (Ottawa telno 166).

Remitonal

is ar leown

arguable

4.

The original purpose of this formulation was

formulation was to ensure that the

whole of US and Canada and the area East of the Urals in the Soviet

Union would be captured in addition to what was seen as a natural focus on Europe. But the Basic Elements paper also envisages Open Skies as a complement to "other disarmament efforts" such as START

and Chemical Weapons (see sidelined passage). There is no common

understanding within NATO or with the Warsaw Pact over whether the

geographical scope is to be limited to the three continents

mentioned, but this interpretation seems a reasonable one. If literally interpreted, this formulation in respect of the UK might cover Hong Kong, Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cyprus SBAs, and, possibly, our dependent territories in the Caribbean. The standard for scope of application has been set by a US declaration that it will not

exclude any territory over which it has sovereignty: Hawaii, Puerto

Rico and Guam would be covered. Other NATO Allies are likely to be more restrictive: Spain wishes to exclude Ceuta and Melilla in North

Africa; the Netherlands will exclude the Antilles in the Caribbean; Portugal has said she may exclude Macao, and the French propose to include St Pierre et Miquelon off Newfoundland but have not yet

pronounced on their territories in the Caribbean.

HDBADG