Background
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Note by Hong Kong Government on incidents involving incursions by Chinese patrol
vessels
Peking telno 1947 of 10 November 1987
Hong Kong telno 3652 of 7 December 1990
Letter from Governor to Sir M Quinlan
dated 13 December 1990
The Garrison Withdrawal Plan
1.
The 1987 Garrison Withdrawal Plan concluded that there
would be a continuing requirement for the Royal Navy's three
Peacock Class Patrol Craft at least until 1991 when the
Marine Police (MARPOL) would be ready to assume the Royal
Navy's deep water anti-illegal immigrant role. The
Withdrawal Plan also noted that a decision on the future of
these three patrol craft should be deferred until 1990, by
which time a clearer assessment of the need for the Royal
Naval presence afloat and of the risks of withdrawal might
be possible. When the Withdrawal Plan was reviewed in early 1989, the MOD noted the possibility that there might be a
political requirement to provide some form of Royal Navy presence afloat (as opposed to a purely land-based capability) until 1997 but made clear that they saw no
military requirement for a continued presence. Consequently
no financial or manpower provision was made for running the
Peacock Patrol Craft after 1991/92.
Defence Cost Arrangements
2.
The arrangements covering the procurement running costs, and disposal of the Peacock Patrol Craft were set out in a side letter to the 1981 Defence Costs Agreement. A side letter was necessary because major capital purchases fall outside the terms of the DCA. Under the agreement reached
in this side letter, the Hong Kong Government was to
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