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4. The way out of these immediate difficulties is to defer the positioning of the aircraft in the Colony until 1971 by which time the new defence contribution will have been negotiated and this is the initial position we have taken up with the Ministry of Defence in our letter of 27 Hay (Annex D). But if the MOD produce compelling arguments against deferment or the Governor himself feels that on balance deferment might be undesirable, then we must address ourselves immediately to the tactics of a separate negotia-
tion on aircraft costs.
5. It is suggested that discussions with the Governor should
concentrate on 1-
(a) The merits of deferment (a preliminary MOD reaction to
this may become available before the discussions).
(b)
The tactics of a separate negotiation on aircraft costs: suggestions for opening and fall-back positions and argumentation are contained in paragraphs 9-10 of Annex A.
Hong Kong Department 28 May, 1969
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