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Brief No. 4
VISIT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO HONG KONG
APRIL 1970
DEFENCE CONTRIBUTION
SPLKING NOTES
Separato notes are provided for use with the Governor
They cover the point in paragraph 6 of the
and officials.
background notes of which unofficials are unaware.
(1) For use with all
Expiry of Current Agreement
Since the current defence contribution agreement will
expire early next year, it will shortly be necessary to begin
discussions about a new agreement.
Increased Cost of Garrison
It is inevitable that the cost of the post 1971 garrison
will show a substantial increase on present costs, if only
because of all round increases in the cost of equipment,
buildings, rates of pay and similar items.
Capacity to Pay
It has been the accepted doctrine sinoe the last
century that a colony should contribute to the costs of its
own defence according to its capacity to pay.
I appreciate that few if any other colonial territories
have contributed to the cost of their own defence on the
same scale as Hong Kong has done over the years.
perhaps tends to obscure the fact that many territories have
But this
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