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temptation would be stronger if the Chinese perceived that HMG
did not have the force immediately available to help deal with
Credible and effective re-inforcement arrangements
the unrest.
would be essential.
The
7. It has already been agreed with the Hong Kong gover¬ment
that one of the two Gurkha battalions should be temporarily
redeployed to carry out a tour in Belize between October 1993 to
March 1994. The UK resident battalion, currently 1st Battalion
The Black Watch, could be redeployed to the UK and would be
available for other duties. The Army have requested that the
move takes place somewhere between April and September 1994.
two Gurkha battalions left in Hong Kong would amalgamate, as
already planned, into a single unit by September 1994.
point before then, the resident garrison would relinquish its
capability to relieve the police on the border. Before then we
would also need to review our plans for re-inforcement of Hong
Kong and the role such re-inforcements might carry out.
At some
8. An accelerated run down along these lines would allow
reductions in support facilities to be made. An initial
assessment indicates that it should be possible to reduce overall
manpower numbers in the garrison to approximately 3,000 by 1
January 1995, compared with nearly 9000 now. It may also be
possible to make savings in RAF helicopter numbers though this
will need to be investigated further. The RN patrol craft have a
role in demonstrating sovereignty and helping preserve
territorial integrity, but are retained primarily for non-defence
reasons, at the instigation of the Hong Kong government. They
are not affected by these proposals.
PA/S/2.033
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