NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
| SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
-------- In Confidence
BEČIC
DRAFT LETTER
To:-
The Rt Hon Roy Mason MP
Type 1 +
FROM
Secretary of State
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
DEFENCE REVIEW: HONG KONG
1.
You wrote to the Prime Minister on 8 July
about the future contribution of Hong Kong to the
cost of the garrison there.
2.
The joint Working Party did a useful job. I agree that the reduced garrison you describe should be accepted as the basis for the Cost Agreement negotiations and that our first aim should be to get Hong Kong to pay a 75% contribution from the start of the new agreement. At the same time, I am glad you recognise that this may be hard to achieve; and that our negotiators will require a margin of flexibility. I agree that our tactics should be as described in your paragraph 5.
3.
I am sending copies of this letter to the Prime Minister, to our other OPD colleagues, and
to Sir John Hunt.
SECRET
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