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GRS 570
PRIORITY.
CYPHER CAT/A
FM HONG KONG 290200Z
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CECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 51
29 SEP 1975
JVKCK 10/1
TOP COPT
REF.
TO PRIORITY F C O TELEGRAM NO 959 OF 29 SEPTEMBER.
YOUR TELEGRAM NO 735: DEFENCE COSTS.
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1 HAVE HAD TO POSTPONE MY ADDRESS TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UNTIL 8 OCTOBER AS A RESULT OF MY ACCIDENT.
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2. I SHOULD LIKE TO INFORM EXECUTIVE COUNCIL IN CONFIDENCE ON 14 OCTOBER OF THE DATE OF MR RODGERS' VISIT AND SPEAK BRIEFLY AS IN THE FIRST SENTENCE OF PARA 2 OF MY TELEGRAM 278) NO 923. WE COULD THEN PROCEED TO A PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT IN
WHATEVER TERMS MR RODGERS WOULD LIKE. I SUGGEST SOMETHING LOW KEY AND GENERAL SUCH AS THE MINISTER OF STATE WILL BE PAYING A SHORT VISIT TO HONG KONG FROM ..... TO WHILE IN HONG KONG HE WILL VISIT THE FORCES, BRIEF HIMSELF ON THE GARRISON'S REQUIREMENTS AND HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT ON THE TERMS OF THE DEFENCE COSTS AGREEMENT TO SUCCEED THAT WHICH EXPIRES AT THE END OF MARCH 1976".
3. IN MY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ADDRESS 1 PROPOSE TO MAKE ONLY A BRIEF REFERENCE TO DEFENCE COSTS ALONG THE FOLLOWING LINES:
''AS YOU KNOW THE CURRENT DEFENCE COSTS AGREEMENT RUNS OUT AT THE END OF MARCH NEXT YEAR, AND MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE IT WAS CONCLUDED 5 YEARS AGO. DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN COING ON WITH H.M.G. AS TO WHAT THE CORRECT SIZE OF THE GARRISON SHOULD BE IN FUTURE, AND WHAT PART OF THE COSTS SHOULD BE BORNE BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT. MEMBERS WILL ALSO HAVE NOTED WHAT THE UNITED KINGDOM DEFENCE WHITE PAPER HAS TO SAY ON THIS SUBJECT. I CANNOT PREJUDGE THE OUTCOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS, BUT WHILE YOUR GOVERNMENT IS ACUTELY AWARE OF THE BUDGETARY PROBLEMS INVOLVED, WHICH HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED
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