23466
From: EH Gwynn CB
Our reference: DUS(F)153/1
Your reference:
SECRET
Ong. to77 Gammare (tradete plen)
еск
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE Main Building, Whitehall, LONDON S.W.I
Telephone: WHItehall 7022, ext. 6613
*(MV Wolfi 26 (Mr Lawn (0.0)
17
סר
9th November 1970
837
Dear Monson,
Thank you for sending me a copy of the Governor, Hong Kong's
6letter of 17 October about the Defence Contribution.
We find some of it puzzling, and I should welcome an early meeting to discuss it, if you can arrange one. If the Governor can be present, that would obviously be a great help.
The particular points on which I wish to comment at this stage are as follows:
NI
to KX 10/9 KX10/9
a.
We cannot accept the Governor's argument that the size of the Defence contribution should be governed by the direct economic gain to Hong Kong from the presence of the Garrison. It is surely based on the factors mentioned in paras 5 and 6 of your letter to the Governor of 9 Oct 1969 primarily the obligation of a Colony to pay the whole or at any rate a reasonable part of the costs incurred by HMG in providing for its internal security.
b. The Governor suggests that an adjustment is required because our latest estimate of local costs is less than he had expected. This is not consistent with the statement in your letter of 5 August that the Governor had "suggested a figure which he may be able to put over locally without regard to any other considerations." As you know, our local costs/E have, in fact, gone up compared with the first estimate given local to the Governor and we should therefore be looking for an increase rather than a decrease in contribution.
costs of
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c. While the Governor emphasised previously that his £8M offer was based on a Garrison of the level of 7 major Units, the argument that this figure should now come down to £7M with a Garrison of 63 major Units does not tie in with his previous suggestion that the £8M arrangement "should be considered to be a basically stable one running for 5 years and subject to review only if the Garrison is increased or decreased by the equivalent of 2 (or more) major Army Units". There is moreover no possible justification for a reduction of £1M since the Army Units are only a part of the Garrison, the remainder of which has been unchanged or increased in size.
Sir Leslie Monson KCMG CB Foreign and Commonwealth Office
/a.
SECRET