§ 16. Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent efforts to pro mote understanding with Indonesia.
§ Mr. George ThomsonAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the 884 House on 8th February, we would like to see a steady improvement in relations with Indonesia.
§ 17. Mr Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many, commercial and technical personnel are attached to Her Majesty's Embassy in Djakarta.
§ Mr. George ThomsonThere are at present seven representational officers at Her Majesty's Embassy in Djakarta who between them deal with the main work of the Embassy including the commercial work.
§ Mr. DalyellAre these sufficient?
§ Mr. ThomsonYes, Sir, they are sufficient. We are considering appointing a full-time commercial secretary as soon as practicable, but it would be premature while the present state of tension and uncertainty persists.
§ Mr. HoosonDoes not the hon. Gentleman agree that the time is ripe for a major diplomatic initiative to improve the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia? With this in mind, is it not time that our representation in Djakarta was greatly strengthened?
§ Mr. ThomsonOur representation in Djakarta is adequate. We are taking every opportunity to assure the Indonesian leaders that to improve relations we are ready to take any steps which are compatible with our obligations to Malaysia and to Singapore. I recently met informally the Indonesia Charge d'Affaires in this country and so informed him.
§ Mr. SoamesWhile fully agreeing that our representation in Djakarta should be sufficient for this purpose, does not the hon. Gentleman agree that the fact that the Government in the Defence White Paper have announced that there is not to be a carrier force in the Far East after the mid '70s—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We must keep to Questions on the Order Paper.