TNAG-2406-FCO40-3499-Chinese-incursions-into-Hong-Kong-waters-smuggling.-With-pho-1992 — Page 109

CONFIDENTIAL

FM PEKING

TO IMMEDIATE F C O

TELNO 132

OF 300502Z JANUARY 92

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

CONFIDENTIAL

HKA 177/1

4

047200

MDHIAN 1199

Thank you TOP COPY 73011 Q DIST?

INFO PRIORITY UKREP JLG HONG KONG

3

HONG KONG TELNO 273: INCURSION INTO HONG KONG WATERS BY TWO HAINAN

CLASS FRIGATES

1

·

YANG YOUYANG'S FLAT DENIAL OF THE FACTS IN THIS CASE MAY

REFLECT CHINESE ANNOYANCE AT THE PUBLICITY GIVEN TO IT IN THE HONG

KONG PRESS. IT MAY ALSO BE AN INDICATION THAT THE SUBJECT IS HIGHLY SENSITIVE, WHICH WOULD BE THE CASE IF THE SHIPS WERE INDEED DEPLOYED IN CONNECTION WITH THE RECENT VISITS TO SHENZHEN BY DENG

XIAOPING AND YANG SHANGKUN. YOU MAY NEVERTHELESS THINK THAT IT

WOULD BE WORTH OUR DRAWING THE ATTENTION OF THE HKMAO OF THE MFA TO THIS INCIDENT, AND TO THE WHOLLY UNSATISFACTORY NATURE OF THE CHINESE RESPONSE TO THE POLITICAL ADVISER'S REPRESENTATIONS. IT IS UNLIKELY THAT WE WOULD SUCCEED IN EXTRACTING AN ADMISSION THAT THE CHINESE WERE IN THE WRONG, BUT WE WOULD AT LEAST HAVE PUT ON RECORD THE CONCERN OF THE BRITISH AS WELL AS THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT ABOUT WHAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN AN UNPRECEDENTED INCURSION.

2. THOUGH THIS IS NOT A PEKING POINT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, IF THERE IS A LEGCO QUESTION, TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT REPRESENTATIONS HAD BEEN MADE IN PEKING AS WELL AS IN HONG KONG.

MCLAREN

YYYY

ΜΑΙΝ

55

LIMITED

HKD

FED

PUSD

PS/LORD CAITHNESS

N N N N

DISTRIBUTION

55

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SIR J COLES

MR BURNS

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