HC Deb 04 February 1971 vol 810 cc459-60W
Mr. Brian Harrison

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the use of islands in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony by United States of America forces.

Mr. Kershaw

In accordance with the provisions of the United States/United Kingdom Exchange of Notes of 1939 (Cmnd. 5989) regarding the joint administration of the Islands of Canton and Enderbury, Her Majesty's Government have agreed to the construction of a United States instrumentation facility on Canton Island in the Phoenix Group of Islands. The facility will serve as an additional terminus of the United States missile test range in the Pacific. The project also involves use of three other Islands in the Phoenix Group (Enderbury, Hull and Birnie).