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Present
situation
advise the Governor and consult him fully in all matters
affecting the security of the Colony."
10. As a result of the run-down of our Forces in the Far East,
Hong Kong became an indpendent command on 1 April 1970. This
involved certain further amendments to the Directive and a
fresh Directive was accordingly issued and came into force on
that date. This Directive was itself amended in May 1971 as
a result of the decision to make Commander British Forces,
Hong Kong, responsible for the normal day to day administration
and training of the United Kingdom garrison in Brunei.
However,
none of these amendments involved any substantial change in
the task of the garrison which remains as stated in paragraph 9
above with one amendment to sub-paragraph (c) thereof which
now reads as follows:-
11.
"(c) to be prepared, in the event of Chinese armed
aggression, to identify such aggression and to offer such
resistance as may be appropriate in the circumstances
then prevailing, in accordance with political direction
at the time."
twenty
It is clear from the foregoing information that the role
of the Hong Kong garrison has undergone a fundamental change
since the Dormant Commission was issued seventeen years ago.
There is no longer any question of fighting a "last ditch"
rearguard action in support of a general evacuation plan.
It would be impossible to implement any outline plan for a
large-scale evacuation from Hong Kong without making detailed
arrangements in advance. It would be equally impossible to
make such detailed arrangements without its becoming publicly
known that large-scale evacuation was being planned, and this
would have disastrous effects on the morale and economy of the
Colony. These facts have been accepted by the DOPC which,
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