HC Deb 06 July 1977 vol 934 cc583-8W
Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what notification of military movements, as suggested in Basket I of the Helsinki Agreement, has

Sponsoring Country Name and period of manoeuvre
Major manoeuvres
Federal Republic of Germany Grosser Baer—6th-10th September 1976.
Smaller Scale Manoeuvres
Turkey* Deep Express—12th-28th September 1975.
Norway Batten Bolt—3rd-7th October 1975.
Norway Atlas Express—24th February-23rd March 1976.
Norway Team Work 76–10th–24th September 1976.
* Deep Express was notified jointly by the United Kingdom and Turkey.

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all occasions since the signing of the Helsinki Agreement in which the United Kingdom, or any other member of NATO, has received prior notification of military manoeuvres by members of the Warsaw Pact, or other signatory country of the Helsinki Agree-

Sponsoring Country Name and period of manoeuvre
USSR Caucasus—26th January-6th February 1976.
USSR Sever—14th-18th June 1976.
Poland Shield 76–9th–16th September 1976.
USSR No name notified—31st March-5th April 1977.
USSR Carpathia—11th-16th July 1977.

been given by any signatory country of the Helsinki Agreement to any other signatory country, other than military manoeuvres.

Mr. Mulley

We are aware of no military movements which have been notified in accordance with the voluntary provision on the notification of major military movements contained in the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the occasions on which the United Kingdom has given notification of military manoeuvres in advance, or had notification regarding military manoeuvres in which it was taking part given, to other signatories of the Helsinki Agreement, as required under Basket I, Confidence-Building Measures, of the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Mulley

The United Kingdom has held one manoeuvre since the Helsinki Agreement which was notified under the terms of the provision on the notification of military manoeuvres. The manoeuvre known as "Spearpoint" took place between 2nd and 11th November 1976 and was notified with more than 21 days' notice to all signatory countries.

United Kingdom forces have taken part in five other notified manoeuvres sponsored by NATO countries. These were:

ment, as required under Basket I, Confidence-Building Measures, of the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Mulley

Warsaw Pact countries have notified signatories to the Helsinki Agreement of five major military manoeuvres—defined as involving more than 25,000 toroops. These were:

Hungary has also notified signatories to the Helsinki Agreement of two smaller-scale military manoeuvres in April and October 1976. However, the period of advance notice was 24 hours or less in both cases.

Sponsoring Country Name and period of manoeuvre
Major Manoeuvres
Switzerland No name notified—10th—18th November 1975.
Smaller-Scale Manoeuvres
Yugoslavia No name notified—21st-25th October 1975.
Yugoslavia Golija 76–20th–23rd September 1976.
Sweden Poseidon—2nd-6th October 1976.
Sweden Vonn 77–4th–9th March 1977.

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, with reference to Basket I, Questions Relating to Disarmament, of the Helsinki Agreement, which of the signatory countries have, respectively, increased or decreased their armed forces' expenditure since the signing of the Helsinki Agreement, giving his estimate of the percentage increase or decrease in the case of each signatory country; and what is his estimate of the percentage spent by each such country on defence.

Mr. Mulley

The only figures which are available for comparison of the defence expenditure of countries signatory to the Helsinki Agreement before and after that agreement are those for 1975 and 1976 respectively. The defence expenditures of NATO countries as a percentage of Gross National Products were:

1975 1976
Belgium 3.4 3.4
Canada 2.3 2.3
Denmark 3.0 3.0
France 4.4 4.3
Germany 4.1 3.8
Greece 7.1
Italy 3.0 2.8
Luxembourg 1.1 1.0
Netherlands 3.9 3.7
Norway 3.7 3.5
Portugal 5.8 4.6
Turkey (1974: 4.1)
United Kingdom 5.5 5.5
United States 6.5 6.4

The percentages of gross national products expended on defence by the Warsaw Pact countries in 1975 and 1976 are estimated to have been:

USSR 11–13
Bulgaria 3
Czechoslovakia 5
GDR 6
Hungary 3
Poland 4
Romania 2

Neutral and non-aligned countries have notified a total of five manoeuvres. In all cases the advanced period of notification was at least that required by the Helsinki Agreement. The manoeuvres were:

The defence burdens of the neutral countries expressed as percentages of gross national products were:

1975 1976
Switzerland 1.8 1.8
Sweden 4.0 4. 0
Yugoslavia 5.2
Spain 1.9 2. 3
Finland 1.4 1.3
Austria 1.0 1.1

The lists omit the smaller CSCE participants.

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what confidence-building measures, other than notification of military manoeuvres and movements, have been made by any signatory country of the Helsinki Agreement, as suggested in Basket I, under the heading Other Confidence-Building Measures, of the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Mulley

The other confidence building measures referred to involve the exchange of military personnel between countries signatory to the Helsinki Agreement. Before and since the Helsinki Agreement there have been many such exchanges, which seek to promote better mutual understanding. In implementing the Final Act provisions, the United Kingdom has endeavoured to continue and develop on a reciprocal basis the exchanges which it had already promoted prior to the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all occasions on which any observers from any Warsaw Pact country have attended any military manoeuvres by, respectively, United Kingdom forces, NATO forces, including occasions when no British forces took part, and forces of neutral countries which signed the Helsinki Agreement, as required under Basket I, Confidence-Building Measures of the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Mulley

Observers from Warsaw Pact countries have been invited on five occasions to attend NATO manoeuvres, including three in which United Kingdom forces took part. None of these invitations was accepted. Warsaw Pact countries have, however, despatched observers in response to invitations to attend a Swiss manoeuvre in November 1976, a Yugoslav manoeuvre in September 1976 and a Swedish manoeuvre in March 1977.

Sponsoring Country Name and period of manoeuvre
USSR Caucasus—26th January-6th February 1976.
USSR Sever—14th-l8th June 1976.
Poland Shield 76–9th–16th September 1976.
USSR Carpathia—llth-16th July 1977.

We are not aware of any occasion on which NATO or neutral observers have not been dispatched in response to invi-

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all occasions when, respectively, observers from the United Kingdom, or other NATO, or neutral signatory countries, have attended military manoeuvres in which any armed forces of the Warsaw Pact took part, as required under Basket I, Confidence-Building Measures, of the Helsinki Agreement.

Mr. Mulley

Observers from the United Kingdom have not been invited to any Warsaw Pact military manoeuvres.

Observers from other NATO and neutral countries have been invited on four occasions to Warsaw Pact manoeuvres:

tations to attend Warsaw Pact manoeuvres.

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