TNAG-2822-FCO40-4072-Hong-Kong-boundaries-and-territorial-waters-1993 — Page 51

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

He

040/1

3

1

Shelagh Brooks

Legal Advisers

BOUNDARIES OF HONG KONG

1.

NOT ON FICE

Hong Kong telegrams 456 and 457 (attached) recommend that any agreement reached with the Guangdong side, on the Hong Kong boundary should be recorded in a Memorandum of Understanding. Additionally any changes to the boundary should be for administrative purposes only, the legal boundary being

unaffected.

2. I should be grateful for your views on this approach. Particularly whether

adopting option A (changing the existing legal boundary) would make it more difficult for China to expand the future SAR to include Shenzhen. My own view is that as the boundaries of the SAR are to be determined by the Basic Law, the Chinese would not permit any Hong Kong ordinances which set them out to survive

1997.

3.

I also attach copies of our telno 862 of 1990, Paul Fifoot's on which it was based, and other relevant exchanges on this subject.

4. As Hong Kong have given little time for comment, I should be grateful for your views, if possible, by cop on Friday 26 March. We will need to submit to Ministers. I will let you have a draft submission shortly.

RAJ But

RAJ Bunten

Hong Kong Department

WH 305

270 2655

23 March 1993

HKCC 040/1

CODE 18-77|

CONFIDENTIAL