TNAG-2841-FCO40-4094-Air-services-agreement-between-Hong-Kong-and-Australia-1993 — Page 7

Your Ref:

Our Ref:

Date: 6 September 1993

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

181/12

London SWIA 2AH

RECEIVED

Telephone: 071-

CEP 993

ESK C

270-2655

BY FAX

Ms E Whatmore

International Aviation Division

Department of Transport

Dea Elizabett

AUSTRALIA/PRC AIR SERVICES: HONG KONG

1. Tanya Smith and Frances Adamson, of the Australian High Commission called on myself and Shelagh Brooks for information on rights to fly to Hong Kong post 1997. The problem had arisen during the recent Australia/PRC air service negotiations (copy of Australian reporting telegram attached - please protect). As you can see the Chinese had asked for its routes to be described as including all points in China. Thus including Hong Kong after 1997. The Australians had insisted that this could only be done on a reciprocal basis, or else excluding Hong Kong. The Australians asked how the Joint Declaration affected such rights.

2. We explained that this depended on whether the Chinese were talking about rights to fly to Australia from the mainland via Hong Kong (in which case the JD made clear that these should be in the 3rd Country/PRC ASA), or to Australia direct from Hong Kong (in which case they could only be covered by the 3rd Country/Hong Kong ASA). We doubted whether the Chinese would ever be will ing to yield cabotage rights to others on the HK-PRC routes after 1997, on the other hand we knew they were very keen to gain beyond rights from HK for CAAC.

3.

The Australians in Canberra wondered whether the problems they were experiencing were part of wider problems between the UK and China over rights to fly to HK post 1997, and if BA's 25% stake in Qantas was a factor. We said that we could see no reason for this. Our current problems with the Chinese over the UK/PRC ASA were commercial in nature and related to services now rather than post 1997. Indeed the UK/PRC ASA did not cover UK/HK Air Services, the continuation of which, post 1997, we would need to discuss with the Chinese in due course.

CONFIDENTIAL

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