shoulder
look to H.M.G. to earry-out.
the Hong Kong Grenament
As you know, they have expanded
and are expanding their police force to the maximum extent.
keep a
possible so that they can lay strong hand on internal
security, but the police force is 90% Chinese and its
like that the populace,
loyalty depends heavily on its confidence that H.M. G.
intend to keep the Colony British and defend it against
will provide strong and effective support.
4.
x
Chinese black
Can it be said that the six units are an adequate in view of
position counter against the above possibility?
After the 1956
riots the Commander British Forces, Hong Kong, assessed
the garrison requirement at nine major units plus a
much
Venom squadron, and/strong naval forces than we have at
directive.
present, te-earry out his ok. In the event of themes
being serious internal security troubles only two of
the units at most would be available to maintain a show
of force on the frontier - and without air support. The
Chinese can, I believe, mufster three armies against them.
In these circumstances I consider that we are obliged
to do all we can to provide the defence forces without
which local confidence will ebb away. If we have the
men, both I and the Hong Kong Government regard it as a
defence
mere fulfilment of our Imperial responsibility that we
Page 253
Para, 20 of E/226
to enable him
to carry out In Directive
should make them available at our cost.on the present basis.
It
5. The above is the background against which we
would have to ask Hong Kong unofficials to consider a
request that they should increase their defence contribution
of A million towards the cost of a reduced garrison.
is unthinkable that I should ask the Governor to use his
official majority in Legislative Council to enforce this.
The Governor has advised that to do so would cause things
to be said that would shake our position in the Colony to
the foundations. It can only be done with unofficial
B
concurrence, and here again to fill in some more background
we have to realise that opinion in Hong Kong is resentful and
critidagtodefH&R G. for its
Johance to gore because of its failure to give
or lack of/financial
Page 253
/assistance