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I think I should also say that the total cost we now expect
to have to meet for the new works within the present
agreement is £3.5M as against a total contribution by
Hong Kong of £2.4M.)
4. No costs of a Hunter unit are included in the statement,
as you told the Defence Secretary that you would not be able
to meet the capital cost of such a unit. As the Defence
Secretary promised, we have examined the possibility of visits
by RAF aircraft to Hong Kong during their annual training; the
Defence Secretary understood that this would be acceptable to
you. We find that visits could be made by Phantoms, Buccaneers,
V-bombers, Nimrods and Canberras, to the extent of RAF
combat aircraft being present in Hong Kong for a maximum
of 20 days in any one year. The annual running costs of
these detachments are estimated at £2500 in budgetary terms
(£3000 in local costs); there might also be some small
increase in station overheads at RAF Kai Tak. It is possible
that visits by Phantoms would require you to lay concrete
ends to the runway.
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5. Coming now to the question of the future Defence
contribution, you explained to the Defence Secretary the
considerable difficulty you had been faced with in 1966
because of the notional division of the garrison between
internal security forces and external defence forces. We
can see your point, and it is of course true that during times of unrest virtually the whole of the garrison is
and available for internal security as required. We share your
wish that the form of negotiations should be "designed to
give you the greatest possible assistance in presenting the
case to unofficial opinion in the Colony. But clearly a
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