4.
In order to avoid the shock to political confidence
and the damage to our bilateral relations with four
important Commonwealth countries, which would be
caused by a hasty and complete withdrawal of all
British military support, HMG's objective should be
to gain the acquiescence of our partners to a phased
withdrawal leading eventually to termination of the
consultative commitment as far as Britain is concerned.
But before we reach that stage we should have to
•
seek some formal review of the arrangements, which
can only properly be brought to an end by a public
statement by all the partners. It is also likely
that during an intermediate stage our partners will
wish us to maintain in being at least the consultative
commitment and, even if they accept gracefully the
withdrawal of our land forces, they may seek the
maintenance of our participation in the Integrated
Air Defence System and our naval presence in
Singapore. The extent to which we require continuing facilities in Singapore (eg on a reinforcement route
to Hong Kong or in the light of whether the Navy wish to maintain a worldwide presence) will have
some bearing on how far we will wish to accede to this. Malaysia and Singapore may also seek additional
assistance in building up local forces as we withdraw.
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