Falkland Islands (Hansard, 7 July 1982)

§ 7. Mr. Douglas
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a White Paper on the implications for foreign policy of the events in the Falkland Islands.

§ Mr. Onslow
My right hon. Friend has no such plans at present.

§ Mr. Douglas
Does the Minister accept that that does not surprise me? Surely the Government cannot persist for too long with the posture of appearing to consider that the position in the Falklands can be status quo ante? Should we not have an assessment of our relations with the Americas as a whole, and in particular have regard to the United States assistance in maintaining freedom in the Falklands, if we are to be there for any time at all?

§ Mr. Onslow
Judging by the hon. Gentleman's preliminary remarks, I think that he understands the problem. Certainly what he said is likely to be true in the longer term. If there is to be a peaceful and secure settlement, it must involve the States with interests in that part of the South Atlantic. At some stage we shall want to move in that direction. I am not saying that our intention is to put sovereignty on the negotiating table. That apart, obviously we want to do our utmost to restore and improve still further our relations with other countries in South America. That is in hand.

§ Mr. Adley
Will my hon. Friend comment on the foreign policy implications of the Falkland Islands? As some people occasionally refer to the position in other British colonies as being identical to that in the Falklands, will my hon. Friend take the opportunity to make it clear that in regard to Hong Kong we have the best possible relations with the Peoples Republic of China? Does he agree that it is a false analogy to compare the position in Hong Kong with that in the Falkland Islands?

§ Mr. Onslow
My hon. Friend is right, as usual.

§ Mr. Dalyell
Since Ministers are so certain about what they call the undoubted rock-solid British claim to the Falkland Islands, why has it taken three weeks to give a substantive answer to the courteous letter that I wrote to the Foreign Secretary asking what Foreign Office lawyers have done since 1910 when they asked Gaston de Bernhardt of the Foreign Office research department to provide a memorandum on the legal sovereignty of the Falkland Islands? If the Government are so sure, could not the reply be sent quickly?

§ Mr. Onslow
I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman has not received the letter that I wrote to him yesterday explaining that these are complicated matters. We have somewhat better things to do than to go back to 1910 to answer letters from the hon. Gentleman. He must wait his turn while we deal with more important matters.