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actively looking for their own design consultant. Japanese presumably felt that they were in a weak position to negotiate over the work share arrangements because they had not done any of the design work. This might be one reason why they were playing for time.
5.
Mr Fletcher said that the UK members of the consortium had entered into a joint venture with Mitsui on the understanding that they could deliver all the key Japanese players. Mitsui had given such an assurance two months ago and it was on that basis that the consortium had made their
presentation to the Hong Kong Government. Mitsui's failure to deliver was extremely embarrassing. One possible explanation for the delay might be that the Japanese government were not ready to commit themselves to the project until they were sure how China would react. If this was the case, it would be helpful to have confirmation from official sources. It was important to know whether the Big Four were hesitating because of wider political difficulties or simply because they were trying to increase their share of the work. If it was the former, it would not matter what the consortium did until the Japanese Government made up their mind. Mr Adams said that our earlier exchanges with Mitsui suggested that the Japanese Government were not much engaged. Mr McLaren agreed that we had no reason to suppose that the Japanese Government were responsible for the delay.
HMG's Role
6. Sir G Manzie said that the UK members of the consortium felt they had gone as far as they could on the industrial net. The only way forward now seemed to be through diplomatic channels. It might be helpful, for example, if
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