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FOR THE UK BUT POSSIBLY RN VESSELS ON THEIR WAY TO AUSTRALIA COULD PARTICIPATE MORE OFTEN. MR GOODLAD TOOK NOTE AND MENTIONED THAT MR RIFKIND WOULD BE VISITING SINGAPORE IN MAY.
12.
GOH AGREED THAT IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE FOR BRUNEI TO JOIN THE FPDA. BRUNEI WAS CONCERNED, HOWEVER, ABOUT HOW INDONESIA WOULD REACT. GOH HOPED THAT THE BRITISH PRESENCE IN BRUNEI WOULD CONTINUE POST-19987. THE BRUNEIANS PUT MORE FAITH IN THEIR AGREEMENT WITH THE UK THAN THE FPDA, WHICH INVOLVED ONLY AN AGREEMENT TO CONSULT. HOWEVER, IF THE UK WAS GOING TO PULL OUT
THE THEN SOONER OR LATER BRUNEI WOULD HAVE TO JOIN THE FPDA. INDONESIANS WERE MATURE ENOUGH NOT TO TAKE IT BADLY.
13.
GOH AGREED IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP UP PRESSURE ON NORTH KOREA: IF NOT OTHERS MIGHT PULL OUT OF THE NPT.
14.
GOH SAID HE HOPED TO VISIT EUROPE NEXT YEAR. HE ENQUIRED ABOUT THE MAASTRICHT RATIFICATION PROCESS AND ABOUT THE DANGER OF BRITAIN'S BECOMING QUOTE AN APPENDIX QUOTE TO EUROPE. MR GOODLAD SAID BRITAIN HAD EVERY INTENTION OF REMAINING AT THE HEART OF EUROPE.
15. GOH HAVING ENQUIRED ABOUT BRITISH DEFENCE SALES TO MALAYSIA, MR GOODLAD SAID WE WERE ALWAYS READY TO MEET SINGAPORE'S REQUIREMENTS. GOH OBSERVED THAT SINGAPORE'S MILITARY PEOPLE WERE ALWAYS LOOKING AT EQUIPMENT BUT THEY DID NOT OFTEN BUY. PERHAPS UK SALESMEN NEEDED TO PUSH HARDER AND CONVINCE THE MILITARY OF THE SUPERIORITY OF THEIR WARES. THE UK SHOULD NOT BE DISCOURAGED FROM TRYING, THOUGH AT THE END OF THE DAY, WITH SINGAPORE'S OPEN TENDER SYSTEM THE LOW BIDDER WOULD ALWAYS WIN.
OTHER MINISTERS
16.
THE MEETINGS WITH BG YEO AND YATIMAN YUSOF WENT OVER MUCH OF THE SAME GROUND. BG YEO MENTIONED THAT SINGAPORE FELT IT OUGHT TO BOLSTER ITS RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND GERMANY BECAUSE OF THEIR ECONOMIC STRENGTH AND CENTRALITY TO EUROPE. IT WAS POINTED OUT TO HIM THAT THE UK INVESTED MORE IN SINGAPORE THAN EITHER FRANCE OR GERMANY. YEO (TIPPED AS A FUTURE PRIME MINISTER) ALSO COMMENTED THAT IF THE FPDA DID NOT EXIST NO-ONE WOULD WANT TO CREATE IT TODAY: HOWEVER IT DID HAVE SOME UTILITY COMPLEMENTING OTHER RELATIONSHIPS IN THE REGION. YATIMAN YUSOF SAID THAT ASEAN WAS TRYING TO DRAW BURMA OUT OF ITS LONG PERIOD OF ISOLATION, BUT THIS HAD TO BE DONE STEP BY STEP: STRONG PRESSURE WOULD BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. ASEAN WAS STILL CONSIDERING WHETHER INVITING
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