CONFIDENTIAL
01 MAR 1991
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MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
MAIN BUILDING WHITEHALL LONDON
VIA HB
Telephone 071-21 82216 (Direct Dialling)
071-21 89000 (Switchboard)
MINISTER OF STATE FOR
THE ARMED FORCES
D/MIN(AF)/AH/5/1/4
Dear Malcolmn
ma McLaren
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266
February 1991
HONG KONG PATROL CRAFT
Thank you for your letter of 18 February which followed our telephone conversation on 12 February. I also note your clarification of what might or might not be on offer from the Hong Kong side: although disappointed, I am not surprised.
As Michael Quinlan's letter to the Governor says, the Chiefs of Staff have looked again at the question of a continued afloat presence in Hong Kong in 1992, and have re-affirmed their earlier view that in overall defence terms the military case for retaining the patrol craft is weak. It is certainly not strong enough to justify the allocation of extra defence resources at a time when the Defence Budget faces extreme difficulty and the likelihood of very uncomfortable decisions. You describe the sum involved as "not all that large"; but it is very far from trivial; we are having to sieve through our programme with a considerably finer mesh than this to get anywhere near balancing the books. Nor do I accept that there is any linkage between this issue and the - very welcome contribution made by the Hong Kong government towards the cost of our participation in the largest military operation since the Second World War, the successful outcome of which is in Hong Kong's direct interests.
Nevertheless, as we have said before, we recognise the value of the patrol craft as a symbol of HMG's commitment to Hong Kong, and we are accordingly prepared to consider ways of retaining them there after 1992 while keeping the demand on defence resources to a minimum. That has to mean looking to the Hong Kong government for a contribution towards the extra costs. The amount and the means by which it is paid is, as you say, a matter for the negotiators. We fully appreciate the importance of not re-opening the DCA in public, and we have acknowledged this repeatedly to the Hong Kong Government. I feel sure that my officials and those of the Hong Kong Government can find a solution which keeps within the spirit of the DCA and which is
CONFIDENTIAL