Mr Goulden

PS/Mr Hogg

PS

CONFIDENTIAL

HKB 063")

Mr Stomy 1017 Ms Login

From: R H Smith Head/NPDD

Date: 10 July 1991

cc: PS/Mr Garel-Jones PS/Mr Lennox-Boyd

PS/Lord Caithness PS/PUS

Mr Fairweather

Sir J Coles

Mr Broomfield

Mr Weston Mr Beamish

Mr Burns WIAD

LAD

SAAD

SEAD

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HKD

MED

SED

SAD

10%

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Policy Planning Staff Security Policy Dept

OUT OF AREA DEFENCE COMMITMENTS

A 1. Mr Gass's minute of 28 June requested a paper on this

subject. I now submit a paper, which draws on contributions from all the relevant geographical departments and comments by Planners.

B

C

D

2.

The paper confirms the assurance given by Sir M Quinlan to the PUS over the weekend that there are unlikely to be any substantial changes proposed as part of Options for Change to our force deployments out of area, given that, for the most part, such deployments are an inescapable requirement.

3. Nevertheless there is pressure on us from the MOD to accept changes to which we have considerable objection. In his minute to Mr King of 4 July about the Hong Kong Patrol Craft the Secretary of State said that he had commissioned a paper pulling together all the threads of our out of area defence commitments. In his earlier letter about HMS Endurance the Secretary of State also referred to our other responsibilities around the world.

S3AAV

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.

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