Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:44:10-2:44:50

Why a Royal Navy visit to China became a point of order

An MP calls the planned courtesy visit to China a reckless policy announcement, and Keith Speed replies that it had already been public for months.

ChinaCold WarNaval DiplomacyParliamentRoyal Navy
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Question

Was the Navy minister improperly announcing a new and reckless Royal Navy courtesy visit to China?

Short answer

No new secret policy was being unveiled; Speed said the Defence Secretary had announced the visit in China at least two months earlier and it had been widely reported.

Notes

After Speed describes the planned Royal Navy visit to China, an MP raises a point of order and calls the courtesy visit a reckless policy gesture. He argues that such an announcement should have come from the Defence Secretary or Prime Minister rather than the Navy minister. Speed replies that the visit was already public knowledge: the Defence Secretary had announced it in China at least two months earlier and the national press had reported it. The exchange shows how naval diplomacy could become politically charged during the Cold War even when the deployment itself was not secret.