TNAG-2623-FCO40-3814-Visits-by-Alastair-Goodlad--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-an-1992 — Page 13

BACKGROUND

Indonesia

1.

Following a lobbying exercise by Greenpeace and other groups, the Indonesia Government and other ASEAN countries have. expressed their opposition to a shipment of reprocessed plutonium from France to Japan passing through their territorial waters. The UK interest in this is that similar shipments from Sellafield are due to begin in a few years and that a BNFL subsidiary is undertaking the transport. The Japanese are keeping the ship's route confidential for security reasons. The shipment meets or exceeds all the relevant international standards for the carriage of nuclear materials and the cargo will be escorted by an armed protection vessel.

2.

The Indonesians are particularly concerned about the passage of the shipment through the Straits of Malacca. The straits are one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and accidents are not uncommon. However, they have acknowledged particularly that they cannot stop the Japanese shipment passing through Indonesian waters. Under. international law and standards. the shipment

requirements. meets the required safety standards Given that, it has every right to exercise its right to innocent passage through territorial waters or transmit passage through international straits.

Hong Kong

3.

Whilst we were preparing for a

for a in lobby in Washington against (Me "Abercrombie an amendment to the US Energy Bill, newspapers reported that Hong

A

/karen/PHILA/indonesia

which would have impossÒ

unnecessarily strict safety requiromonto on plutonini shipments in us waters,