danger that anything said in the discussions might become known to the
Governments of Australia and New Zealand before we had had an opportunity
to approach them ourselves. The Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary
should then circulate a joint paper to the Cabinet, for consideration on
4th April, seeking their approval for the broad basis of the present proposals
There should then be interdepartmental examination of the rate of reduction of our forces as a whole and of the changes in our equipment programme that would
be involved. Final decisions on all these issues could not be taken until
after the series of consultations with our allies, but it would be necessary
first for the Committee and then for the Cabinet to consider in June, in the
light of these consultations, whether we should plan on the reduction of our
forces on the basis proposed by the Defence Secretary, or whether we should
plan a total withdrawal of our forces from the Far East.
The Committee
(1) Took note, with approval, of the Prime Minister's summing up
of their discussion.
(2) Invited the Foreign Secretary, Commonwealth Secretary and
Defence Secretary to consider in the light of the discussion the terms in which the latter should inform the United States Secretary for Defence, during his forthcoming visit to Washington, of the course of the further defence studies. (3) Invited the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary to
circulate a paper to the Cabinet, on the basis indicated by the Prime Minister, for consideration on 4th April. (4) Instructed the Secretaries to arrange for an interdepartmental
examination by officials of the details of the proposals on the basis indicated by the Prime Minister and to circulate the first politico-military and economic study to the Committee by 17th April.
Cabinet Office, S.W.1.
23rd March 1967
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