TNAG-2714-FCO40-3920-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 47

14-JUL-1993 16:34

JAMES LEE

0494536249 P.15

TRANSCRIPT B

-

MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD COMMITTEE 14 JULY 1993

FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT

14

priority as building closer relations with the countries of the Asia Pacific region; they have opened diplomatic relations with South Korea, they have a state visit of the Emperor of Japan and they have been renewing their approaches to the ASEAN countries.

There is a continuing dispute over the Spratley Islands where there are conflicting territorial claims and China is discussing that with ASEAN and there are moves to involve them more fully in the dialogue in regional security which has been intensified by

They attach a very high priority the move of the United States.

to their relationships with the United States which is

reciprocated I believe. The Most-Favoured-Nation treaty status is very important to them and to their prosperity and I suppose the American relationship is their most important foreign

relationship.

I should think ours is probably the second, maybe

the Japanese but I would think ours.

On human rights, they have not, as we know, admitted the

universality of human rights and they say human rights consist of prosperity rather than what we call human rights but they are

entering into a dialogue.

I think those are my predominant reflections on their foreign policy; it reflects their domestic preoccupation to modernise the economy and to that end become part of the wider world and that means America, it means Asia-Pacific and it also means us.