Present:
UK
DEFENCE COSTS
SECRET
Record of the first plenary meeting at Government House on 28 October, 1975
HK
Mr. Wiggham Mr. Jenney PS/GH
Service Advisors
CBF
Capt.-in-Charge
CRAF
Col. Tillotson Col. Palmer
Mr. Gough
Minister of State
HE
for Defence
Mr. Andrew
CS
Cdre. Perowne-
FS
.Mr. O'Keeffe
S for S
Mr.
Mr. Ward
Jones
Mr. Thorpe
Mr.
Mr.
Sandars Goodfellow
+
H.E. opened the meeting by saying that it was
clear from the morning meeting with the Executive Council
and Finance Committee that there was a large gap between the UK request that HK should meet 75% of costs and the HK
offer of meeting 50%. H.E. was not authorised to go beyond
50% but he suggested that it would be helpful if both sides
now examined the possibilities for closing the gap.
2.
The Minister of State commented that he would
have welcomed the opportunity to reply to some of the points
made by Unofficials at the morning meeting. He had in mind
particularly the suggestion that revenue would not increase if
HK raised its taxes, that much of the money spent on the garrison
ended up outside HK and that, if HK was called upon to pay the
full costs of the garrison, this would undermine the UK
commitment to HK to the extent that HK would be better off
without a garrison at all.
said that some of their
H.E.
SECRET
2
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