CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO:
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE
Out of Area Defence Commitments
In my minutes of 18 June and 4 July about HMS
Endurance and the Hong Kong Patrol Craft respectively, I
said that I wished to take stock of these issues in the
wider context of our other out of area responsibilities,
especially the defence of our Dependent Territories as a
whole.
-
of
Our
Our deployments, for the most part, derive from inescapable commitments and requirements and relate
primarily to the security in its broader sense remaining Dependent Territories. These commitments are virtually untouched by the change in East West relations and the diminished threat in Europe
as you noted in
There is no defence or
your press conference on 9 July. foreign policy reason, as far as I am aware, for making any significant change out of area in the Options for
Chance review.
I am particularly concerned therefore about your proposals to make changes in how we discharge our two most important commitments: the South Atlantic and Hong
Kong.
VR9ADK
CONFIDENTIAL