SECRET
THE PRIME MINISTER
Personal Minute
No./
10 DOWNING STREET
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE
DEFENCE REVIEW: HONG KONG
82
(79)
H. K. 1.0. D.
A/S Lad
ki
Loud Formany Rolate Mi 1). Watson / Phifale The Resinsen/Defence Jyl
PA
BD
313
と
You mentioned briefly at OPD this morning the correspondence
arising from your letter of 11 February to the Foreign and
Commonwealth Secretary about Hong Kong and the Defence Review.
Since there was no fuller discussion on the subject at this
morning's meeting, I think I should let you have my views in
writing.
I agree that further work should be done in order to reduce
the cost of the garrison in Hong Kong as much as possible. I
also think that, when formal negotiations begin, these should be
based on percentages rather than on money figures. Our firm | objective should be to get Hong Kong to pay 75 per cent of the
total cost, as already agreed in OPD, but if this proves impossible,
I think that our negotiators could agree, ad referendum, to a
50 per cent contribution from Hong Kong in the first year of a five
or seven-year Agreement, rising by stages to 75 per cent in the last year, or to any variation of this percentage pattern (e.g. 2 level of about 66 per cent throughout the period) which would
produce a result no less favourable to us.
I am copying this minute to the Foreign and Commonwealth
Secretary, to our other OPD colleagues, and to Sir John Hunt.
20 February 1975
SECRET
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