CO537-(1262-1649) — Page 968

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CO 537/1649

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

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restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of National Archives' leaflet Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the National Archives' terms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright

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00068

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THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

CO 537/1649

restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of National Archives' leaflet. Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the National Archives' terms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright

6.- FUTURE DEFENCE POLICY FOR HONG KONG

0.0.5.(46) 275 (0)

THE COMMITTEE considered a letter from the Colonial Office, saying that they were preparing, in conjunction with the Foreign Office, a joint paper on the future of Hong Kong, for submission to the Far Eastern (Official) Committee, and that if the Chiefs of Staff approved, they proposed to include a reference to the defence factor of Hon Konj The Colonial Offico had insorted a draft paragraph.

SIR RHODERICK MCGRIGOR suggested that an addition to the draft paragraph might be made in the sense that Hong Kong might be required for a naval and air base in the future, and that if this was so, mobile defences would be introduced at short notice.

Both SIR WILLIAM DICKSON and LIEUT.GENERAL SIMPSON circulated amendments to the paragraph, which greed with that proposed by the Vice Chief of Naval Stuff.

In discussion, it was agreed that in answering the Colonial office, the following points should be mudo:-

(a) that their paragraph should be amended on

the lines agrood in discussion;

(b) it should be requested that for reasons of

sucurity, the joint paper should have a vory limited circulation;

(c) that the Chiefs of Staff attached great importance to Service representatives seeing the quotation as it appoured in the final paper, us it might appear to have a different meaning in the paper if taken out of its context.

THE COMMITTEE:-

Instructed the Secretary to inform

the

Colonial office of their views on the lines of 'X' above.

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Annex IV (to follow)

RECEIVED 28 NOV 1946

-8-CO. REGY.

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