(DEFENCE AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE)
TUESDAY, 11TH FEBRUARY, 1975.
Members present:
Colonel Sir Harwood Harrison, in the Chair.
Sir Frederic Bennett.
Mr. Bernard Conlan.
Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg.
Dr. Maurice Miller. Mr. John Roper.
49
DEFENCE REVIEW (D.42)
Supplementary Memorandum by the Ministry of Defence (S.C.O.E. 70/1)
The following are answers to.questions posed in the letter from the Clerk to the Sub-Committee dated 23 January 1975. Paragraph references are to paragraphs of SCOE 701:
Q1. Para 2. Would you please state:
(a) The source, status and base of the NATO GNP figures given;
(b) The comparable proportions of GNP spent on defence by each of the NATO states, including Canada and USA;
(c) Whether the average NATO European figure of 41 per cent. is a simple average or a weighted average?
Al. The figures quoted in para 2 of the memorandum are drawn from NATO sources. They are all on the common NATO definition of defence expenditure and reflect the latest forecasts for the calendar year 1974. The figure for NATO Europe is a weighted average. The proportion of GNP devoted to defence by each of the NATO allies for 1974 is estimated to be:-
Per cent.
Belgium Canada
3.1
2.4
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
2.6
3.8
4.1
4.9 (including Berlin Aid)
5.0
3.0
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
0.9
3.8
3.8
Portugal
6.4
Turkey
4.1
United Kingdom
5.8
United States
6.6
NATO European Average
4.1
NATO North America
6.3
Total NATO
5.3
Q2. Para 8. What proportion of the cost of maintaining our forces in Hong Kong
is at present met by the Hong Kong Government?
A2. Under the present cost-sharing Agreement which runs out in 1976, the Hong Kong Government currently meets about 25 per cent. of the costs at 1974 Survey Prices.
1 See Evidence pages 22-34.