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seems to me to be as much a military as a political point.
6. A small fighter presence would have considerable value in
terms of sustaining public morale; in its absence, the effect of
a Chinese intrusion into Hong Kong air space would be catastrophic.
There has been a tendency here to write off the possibility of
intrusion because there has been none in the years since the
communists came to power. I do not think we should regard the
risk too lightly. The Governor mentioned to me that in 1955
Formosan military aircraft intruded into Hong Kong air space; any
repitition of this, in circumstances which showed that we were
unable to react, would enable China to claim that we were responsi-
ble for a gap in their own air defences and provide a good excuse
for Chinese aircraft to patrol Hong Kong's air space.
7. There is another point. The despatch of fighters from the
United Kingdom to deal with any incident involving China must
appear as a political act and could exacerbate the situation in a
way that the reactions of forces based locally would not do.
8. The Governor during his recent visit made certain tentative
proposals for a small fighter unit backed by a Hong Kong Auxiliary
Air Force component and taking into account the facilities for
maintenance provided locally by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering
Corporation. This is being studied, I understand, in the Air
Force department. The Governor's plan envisages that the Hong Kong
Government will take responsibility for part of the operating
costs; it assumes, however, that the Hong Kong Government would
not be required to purchase the aircraft. This, I think, is a
very helpful proposition and, provided that there are no technical
or military objections, possibly indicates an acceptable solution.
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