'File 35/134 I A. 40. Sur: Amirs of Jaalan' [‎231r] (508/596)

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Telegram
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Repeated
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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. , Busliire»
G-overnment of India, New Delhi.)
Secretary of State for India. )
Ho. 1^05.
Latter to give copy to Secretary
of State for Colonies, No. 132.,
Dated 2.4ttL Novem'ber 1928.
It was on the possibility of ¥aha"bi. inter-
-ference :md aggression and consequent political dialocat-
-ion that the proposals for the location of a "battalion
at Sur were "based. That there v/ould appear to he no
possihility of this is indicated hy subsequent reports.
Fors. the present therefore Sur may he viewed as. domestic
problem of Oman. As such it is no new one and prohahly
not now one of extreme urgency. It must however ha
faced as part of the whole question of Muscat, which has
already drifted far from the position it occupies in
theory and now shows a tendency to move further. The
Hinav/is, who have fallen out with the Bani Riyam and are
threatened hy them with attack from the rear should they
attack the Bani Bu Ali, seem likely to avoid precipitat-
-ing matters. I agree with Gommander in Chief that
we can obtain effective control of Sur only hy locating
a battalion there but it seems to me that his limit of
two years for its location seems optigListic
and that the occupation is more likely to be semi-perman
-ent. There seems to me to be no advantage in
attempting to interfere inland.
Were Sur to pass into other hands its
actual retaking and occupation would be a matter of
little difficulty. And wq could always without
occupation imposfe a blockade to bring pressure on the
tribes of the interior. On the other hand.the
establishmeEi