TNAG-2841-FCO40-4094-Air-services-agreement-between-Hong-Kong-and-Australia-1993 — Page 3

UNCLASSIFIED

FM FCO

TO PRIORITY CANBERRA

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, 319

инвер

HK

PERONS,

TELNO 1026: UK/HONG KONG/AUSTRALIA AIR SERVICES

SUMMARY

1. In telno 1026, Hong Kong asked DOT to initiate the

UK/Australia Exchange of Notes to remove Hong Kong from the scope of the UK/Australia ASA. That telno also commented that they expected us to

to use the original version of the Exchange as envisaged in paragraph 2(b) of David Moss' (DOT) letter of 17 June 1992 to Buckingham (FTC). This version takes into account the fact that no agreement was reached at the talks in 1992 on new UK/Australia trunk routes and is the approach that we would like to follow. Before doing so we would like to be clear that the FTC are aware which text we shall be sending and why. We would therefore be grateful if informal soundings could be taken with the FTC before we initiate the draft Exchange of Notes.

DETAIL

2.

draft

The UK provided the Australian delegation with a Exchange of Notes at the talks in May 1992 worded as follows: Quote:

"I have the honour to refer to the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia concerning Air Services signed at London on 7 February 1958, as amended, and to propose that the said Agreement shall be further amended as follows:

(i) At the end of Article 1(1)(c) immediately after the words "that state" there shall be inserted the words "provided that Hong Kong shall not be regarded as territory of the United Kingdom except, until 30 June 1997, for the purposes of Article 2(3).

(ii) In the Schedule to the Agreement setting out the routes to be served by the airlines of the United Kingdom and of Australia, Routes II and III in Section A and in Section B shall be deleted.

If the foregoing proposal is acceptable to the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia I have the honour to suggest that this Note and Your Excellency's reply shall constitute an Agreement between our two Governments which shall enter into force on the date on which an Air Services Agreement between the Government