Coll 5/10 ‘Air Route to India: Persia; Arabian Coast Route; Negotiations with Arab Sheikhs’ [‎105r] (220/800)

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^ later carry the Australian as well as the Indian air mail. I may add that
already no less than 4^- million letters are being conveyed annually by the
existing Indian service.
5 . Naturally I should be delighted if it were possible to induce Persia
to extend the permit to use the Persian coast route, but the Foreign Office
have repeatedly advised that this is not practical politics, and accordingly
ur^-ed upon us transference to the Arabian coast. I must, moreover, enter a
caveat against the suggestion that the inducement might take the form of a
’’substantial" rent, if by that is meant a payment out of all proportion to the
charges normally ruling in the cas$ of Powers who are members of the I.C.A.N.,
and therefore partaking of the nature of blackmail. The facts would soon be
known, and other Powers - petty or greet - might seek similarly to blackmail us;
and, apart from grave reactions on our prestige, the future for international civil
aviation would be black indeed. Our prime object, viz. to work towards the
establishment of civil air transport on a commercial basis, would be frustrated;
and the Exchequer would in all probability be faced before long with a far heavier
expenditure than anything involved in the Arabian Coast route.
6. Finally I would recall to my colleagues the strategic importance of an
air route following the Arabian coast, a route already in existence in embryo and
one that must be developed and maintained even if the Civil air route remains on,
or reverts to, t he Pers ia n 'coast. It follows, therefore, that any expenditure
on the ArabiarTroute, even if Persia Yfere ultimately to acquiesce in the continua
tion of the use of the Persian coast route by Imperial Airways, will not be
wasted, or of a nugatory nature - quite the reverse. For instance, a rest-house
at Ras-al-Khaimah, or in the vicinity, is clearly a future, if not an immediate,
requirement of the Royal .Air Force. In this connection I may point out that,
even if coma other arrangorrent were made with Persia and, as has been suggested.
Hen jam became available, that might possibly serve Imperial Airways' immediate
purpose 7.*ell enough, though the financial saving as compared with using the Arabian
Coast would be of the smallest, since the greater cost of having to use flying-boats
for part of the route instead of using larAplanes throughout between Egypt or
Palestine and India would remain. The strategic route, however, must be one that is
organised for use by lan&q)lanes as well as seaplanes and in order to avoid infringing
Persian neutrality, can therefore only follow the Arabian Coast.
7. Discussion on this matter has been so protracted and action so long
delayed that I cannot but concur in ifce Financial Secretary r s view that no substitute
route can be adequately planned so as to be in final readiness by 1st April, 193^;
but even if Persia remains intransigent and insists on the abandonment of the Persian
coast route, I do not think it unreasonable to expect that, if we are already at ^
work organising the Arabian route, Persia may be prepared to allow us (say) 6 months
grace in which to complete our preparations. Even so, it will be neceosary to
proceed with the utmost expedition, and in my view the Air Ministry should be
authorised to incur expenditure, if and as soon as the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. can arrange
satisfactory terms with the Sheikh of Ras-al-Khaimah or some other sheikh (a) on
preliminary survey (e.g. by Imperial Airways, who have an olficer ready to go out and
make all necessary preparations), and (b) on such items of capital expenditure
as require a long time for execution, e.g. the rest-house, the cost of which is
difficult to estimate, but should certainly not exceed £5,000 or £6,000, and a m^rin.,
base at Karachi. I would again emphasise that whatever happens, this expenditure
will not be nugatory, but will be of direct utility to the military route which
the Committee of Imperial Defence and the Cabinet have accepted as a vital
strategic necessity.
r Ministry,
comber 16th, 1931.
(intd.) L.