r
SECRET
До броски, ико
Surday 28tate
pas in Goodland The Secretary of State shoes
Stir SuJ.com Sr. J. Cons' view.
Sr. T. Doux
J
risute now,
but
Wes Morris
delay consulting
166
063/1
por
J C Hong Kong Department DATE: 17 November 1993
sir 3 cols the Governor in Fil
Private Secretary Tremmy
on
cc: PS/Mr Goodlad
Sir T Daunt
and MoData w под
дробнику
HONG KONG:“GARRISON RUN-DOWN
18
Lach
to
го пров
OTRY
L7 DEC 1993
+9
CISTRY
ion Taken:
A
Problem
The Chancellor's latest minute in his correspondence with the Defence Secretary puts us in an awkward position vis-à-vis
the Governor.
1.
Recommendation
2. I recommend that the Governor should be consulted and
that the Secretary of State should minute the Chancellor to say this. I submit a draft telegram and a draft minute.
Background and Arqument
168
3. The Treasury have been pressing (ever since the OPD (K)
decision last June to accelerate the run-down of the Garrison)
for the Battalions to be withdrawn in a different order. The
net effect would be that the UK Battalion would return to
Hong Kong sooner than foreseen in the Foreign and Defence Secretaries' Paper to OPD (K)). Since Hong Kong pays 65% of the cost of units stationed in Hong Kong, this would save the MOD
budget some £30 million, over the period of 1997. A good deal
of this (we are not clear whether all) would fall on HKG.
garr.PET.JRB
SECRET