SECRET
It will also be necessary to consider the future of
British defence requirements in the area which are
primarily national in purpose, since the extent to
which cooperation on these will be forthcoming will
depend in part on how we handle the question of the
FPDA.
3. The FPDA, and specifically the commitment to
consult in relation to threats to Malaysia and
Singapore, was not intended as a response to any
defined military threat, but as a political
reassurance to our Commonwealth partners and to support
confidence and stability in the area. It has been
generally understood that the need for the arrangements
would not last for ever and that their value depends
largely on the continued willingness of Britain,
Australia and New Zealand to station forces there
while Malaysia and Singapore are developing their own
armed forces. It is now probable that in the Defence
Review it will be decided that the main British force
contribution should be removed. Australia has already
removed most of her ground forces, and will in due
course probably remove her air forces as well.
It
is doubtful, though not impossible, that New Zealand
would maintain ground forces in Singapore on her own
This makes it necessary to consider the future of the consultative commitment and whether (and if so
when) it should be brought to an end. We must bear
in mind that, even if the UK withdraw, the other partners might wish to continue the FPDA without
Britain.
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