covering SECRET
Sir G. Arthur
POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CURTAILMENT OF BRITISH DEFENCE COMMITMENTS OUTSIDE NATO
1.
First,
The attached paper is designed to meet two objects. it is intended as an FCO contribution to the Defence Studies Working Party. Decisions in the Defence Review will be for Ministers in the second half of 1974 but meanwhile contingency planning must be set in hand. It was agreed at the DSWP meeting on 1 April that the non-NATO commitments would have to be examined first, partly because of their lower priority, partly to make it clear how small the savings would be if the commitments were cut, and partly to allow proper international consultation. The FCO was invited to prepare a paper on the political implications of abandoning the non-NATO commitments listed in the terms of reference to the Defence Review. These terms of reference divide the commitments up as follows:
1) our commitments and forces in the Far East and South
East Asia, including the capability to reinforce them; our commitment to CENTO and otherwise in the Middle East; our commitments and forces in the South Atlantic and the Caribbean;
2)
3)
4)
5)
our commitments and forces in the AFSOUTH area of Allied Command Europe (ACE) and the Mediterranean generally (Note: the DSWP agreed that AFSOUTH should be treated separately as part of NATO)
our reinforcement and/or assault forces together with associated sea and air lifts, their roles and commitments including the function of responding to the unforeseen.
The paper follows this division.
2. The second purpose of the paper is to provide a check-list for internal use within the FCO of action which might be taken to avert or mitigate any damaging political consequences which might
covering SECRET
/ flow