garr.JM.JRB
SECRET
7.
The political scene has changed considerably since the defence cost agreement was approved in 1988. My main goal now is to preserve that agreement in the face of an increasingly assertive legislature. The agreement in its present form could not survive the close public scrutiny it would attract if it became a public issue. My conclusion therefore is that the profile of the subject must be kept as low as possible. The Treasury's latest proposal would achieve the opposite. If this resulted in the Hong Kong legislature refusing to vote any further funds for the garrison, I have no reserve powers to overrule this. The future of the garrison would be in jeopardy.