§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the seismic centre which went into operation last year in Norway and the seismic centre which the United States is currently said to be discussing with the Government of China are exclusively bilateral in arrangement, or whether their operations and the information obtained through them is made fully available to other governments, and if so to which.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Support (Lord Trefgarne)The Norwegians have stated that data from both the Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR, established 1970) and the Norwegian Regional 871WA Experimental Station (NORESS, established 1985) are openly available to the international seismological community. Both NORSAR and NORESS have been established under a co-operative agreement between Norway and the United States.
Her Majesty's Government have not been informed of any arrangements between the United States and China for the establishment of a new seismological recording station in China, although we are aware of press reports of negotiations with this objective.