§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will raise at the forthcoming meeting of NATO the use by the United States of America of the base in the Azores independently of NATO bases and the conditions under which this base is available.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE)No, my Lords, the base at Lajes, in the Azores, is leased by the United States under a bilateral agreement 2 with Portugal concluded in 1971. It is not a NATO base.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, while welcoming the noble Baroness on her return from her long journeys, is she aware that, unusually, I do not welcome that Answer? Is it not undesirable that one NATO country should have bases in the territory of another NATO country and use them for purposes contrary to the policy of its fellow members?
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Brockway, for his welcome back. Regarding the use of the Azores by the United States for ferrying arms to the Middle East, neither Her Majesty's Government nor the Alliance can properly comment in any way since neither of them are involved.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, has the noble Baroness information regarding the agreement that was reached in this matter? Does it include American support for Portuguese policy in the colonies, which is suggested by recent votes in the United Nations and to which other NATO countries are opposed?
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, although this is a bilateral agreement concluded in 1971 between the United States and Portugal, I understand that the use of the base by the United States was in return for economic aid.