§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) who authorised the provision to South Africa of the NATO codification system; and whether there are other NATO members supplying to South Africa codification information relating to embargoed equipment under British policy;
525W(2) how the NATO codification system was provided to South Africa; and by whom;
(3) if he will take steps within NATO to ensure that items in the Ministry's Defence Equipment Catalogue which it embargoes are not the ones about which NATO codification information is provided to South Africa by other NATO members.
§ Mr. MasonI understand that South Africa has used the NATO codification system, which is an entirely open and unclassified system, at its own initiative since the early 1950s. However, such unauthorised use by non-NATO countries can upset the efficient running of the system and the exchange of data. South Africa was, therefore, formally recognised as an operator by NATO in 1959 and allocated a nation code. The United Kingdom helped the South Africans to set up a national codification bureau.
There is no central NATO computer containing all codification information; each NATO country is responsible for holding for its own purposes the codification information about the equipment it uses. Under the system, each NATO country is responsible for any links it may operate with non-NATO countries; and there is, therefore, no provision for influencing other member countries' use of the system.
Sales are, of course, regulated by the arms export policies of each NATO nation individually. But as the House has already been told, the use of the codification system by non-NATO countries does not give them the right to beneficial treatment over arms purposes.
I should point out that the codification system is an automatic data processing method for the identification and stock numbering of equipment.
§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether Project Advokaat transmits naval and other information to his Department; and whether information of that kind is transmitted through other sources to Great Britain by South Africa.
§ Mr. MasonAs I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel) on 1st December526W 1975—[Vol. 901, c. 375–376]—Project Advokaat is a private industrial development being undertaken by a German company for South Africa. Such exchanges of views as take place between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on matters of common interest are conducted through the appropriate diplomatic or commercial channels.
§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence why the British Defence Equipment Catalogue sent to the South African Government provides information about items which are subject to the arms embargo policy; and whether, in view of the valuable military information thereby incidentally supplied, he will discontinue the practice of sending the catalogue.
§ Mr. MasonThe British Defence Equipment Catalogue contains items which are subject to the arms embargo on South Africa because it is distributed to many other countries besides South Africa.