CONFILENTIAL
AKK 043/1
DUSK
INDEX
STRY NO. 51
2 6 FEB 1979
REGISTRY
Acton T-4439
425
No
J22.2
४
The Hon. L M Davies CMG OBE JP
Government Secretariat
Secretary for Security
HONG KONG
26 February 1979
ASSISTANCE TO THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT
AIR RECONNAISSANCE
1. Further to our telephone conversation of 23 February, I con- firm that an RAF Canberra will be going to Hong Kong shortly. The Ministry of Defence will now make the detailed arrangements with HCBF.
2.
You will wish to know that the Ministerial approval for this deployment is for a period of 2-3 weeks, which was the time span implied in your telegram No 240: Vietnamese refugees. Any extension of this period, ie the "up to 30 days" you mentioned to me, would therefore require further Ministerial approval.
3. The Ministry of Defence have asked that we make it clear to you that they regard this help as "a temporary expedient only". They go on to suggest that, if the requirement for frequent and sophisticated surveillance is going to continue, then you should purchase further Islander-type aircraft for this purpose. They also make the point that these aircraft should preferably be for use by a full-time Force, eg the Hong Kong Police. You will no doubt wish to bear these points in mind.
P J Williamson
Hong Kong and General Department
CONFIDENTIAL