TNAG-2672-FCO40-3869-Hong-Kong-defence-issues-1993 — Page 74

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

CONFIDENT : AL

ANNEX

DETAILED FCO COMMENTS ON SDE 93: THIRD DRAFT

Chapter 1

Paragraph 2:

WEU is a military alliance, not a "security organisation" and should be referred to in the context of NATO, not CSCE.

This statement could come back to haunt us. The international community has done little to oppose aggressive or illegal behaviour in Yugoslavia. Among European states, Britain has been particularly unwilling to get involved there. The US has been even more reluctant. UN activity thus far has been humanitarian and otherwise at the margins (NFZ, blockade). Somalia was a unilateral action.

We

Amend the relevant sentences to read " The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Western European Union (WEU) are increasingly focusing on peacekeeping and crisis management, and are already playing a role in the former Yugoslavia. The North Atlantic

former adversaries. are also striving to achieve a peaceful and stable Europe through other security fora, in particular the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). The revitalisation of the United Nations (UN) offers scope for strengthening existing codes

...

"

#1

Paragraph 4: Amend third sentence to read particular expressing its willingness to undertake peacekeeping under UN or CSCE auspices

Paragraph 5:

...

in

The tone of this paragraph emphasising "collective defence" seems out of keeping with the changed security environment, and the absence of a major external threat.

Amend to read "NATO's Integrated Military Structure remains the bedrock of the Alliance. NATO is the only security organisation which offers an effective structure of political consultation, assigned forces and integrated command. It provides mechanisms ..."

Paragraph 6:

We should make clear what our nuclear weapons are actually there for, with particular reference to the Russian nuclear arsenal.

Amend to read "

preservation of peace. While we

continue to build on a cooperative and non-adversarial relationship with Russia, the Alliance will continue to need

NM/Lett0511sde

CONFIDENTIAL

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