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THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
responsibilities for the operational control of the 80 km Hong Kong Sea Defence Area and, in conjunction with the Director of Marine and the Director of Civil Aviation, for search and rescue operations in the South China Sea. The naval base maintains a submarine rescue facility and a small clearance diving team which also assists the police in the recovery of drugs or smuggled goods, and government authorities in searching for and neutralising underwater explosives.
HMS Tamar also houses the Headquarters, British Forces Hong Kong. The 28-storey tower block - The Prince of Wales Building - contains the offices of the Commander British Forces and his staff, together with accommodation and domestic facilities for the base. The building was opened by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in 1979.
Ships from the navies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and India have visited the base which also had an unusual visitor, the Omani dhow Sohar after her dramatic reconstruction of the historic voyage of Sinbad from Muscat to Guangzhou.
The strength of the naval establishment, including reinforcements, is about 670 and is supported by some 60 locally employed civilians. The patrol craft are manned by locally entered Chinese ratings and UK officers and ratings. About 330 Chinese ratings are employed in the seaman, engineering and supply branches and another 500 locally recruited merchant seamen and storehousemen serve worldwide aboard the ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service which provide logistic support to Her Majesty's Fleet and the Army.
The Royal Navy has always been a part of Hong Kong and continues to play an active role in community relations such as sea training for the Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps and the Stanley Sea School; provision of electrical maintenance for the Cheshire House at Chung Hom Kok; the building of an obstacle course for a children's playground on Lantau; and a continuing programme of assistance to the St. Christopher's Home for Children.
The Army
The army represents the bulk of the forces in Hong Kong and overall command is vested in Commander British Forces. Command of operational units is delegated to the Gurkha Field Force while logistic units come under the command of the Deputy Commander British Forces.
During 1981, the 1st Battalion Scots Guards replaced the 1st Battalion Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) and the 1st Battalion 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles replaced the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. Under the new Defence Costs Agreement these units are to be augmented by the Gurkha Reinforcement Battalion, and some minor enhancements are also to be made in other areas.
Support is provided by a number of units permanently based in Hong Kong which include The Queen's Gurkha Engineers, Queen's Gurkha Signals, the Gurkha Transport Regiment, 660 Squadron Army Air Corps, the Composite Ordinance Depot, 50 Command Workshops Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and the British Military Hospital. The Hong Kong Military Service Corps, which forms part of the British Army, is staffed by full-time regular soldiers with some 1 066 Chinese officers and men who serve as infan- trymen, military policemen, interpreters, dog-handlers, drivers, cooks, clerks, seamen and storemen. The corps provides a valuable contribution to the garrison and has assumed an important role in operations against illegal immigrants.
The primary role of the army is to support the Hong Kong Government, particularly the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. It is also responsible for preserving the integrity of the