TNAG-0042-FCO40-78-Future-Sovereignty-of-Hong-Kong-Defence-Review-Working-Party-1967 — Page 108

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From: P. Nailor, Head of

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE Main Building, Whitehall, LONDON S.W.1

Telephone: WHItehall 7022, ext. 3287

24th August 1967

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12

Dear Carter,

In

Following the DRWP meeting last Tuesday I have a number of suggestions to offer in respect of the first three para- graphs of section B of the draft report on Hong Kong. the first paragraph we should prefer the second and third sentences to read as follows:-

2.

"No Royal Air Force aircraft are stationed in the

Colony but aircraft make periodic visits to administer a measure of control over local air space. One frigate and two coastal minesweepers are maintained in the Colony on a rotational basis from Singapore.

It was agreed at Tuesday's meeting that the figures of cost in the report should be those used in the Defence Review; as a matter of record I understand that in the current year of account gross expenditure on forces in Kong Kong is £11.69 m., and net expenditure after deducting the Hong Kong Government contribution and local arisings is £6.2 m.

3.

In the second paragraph we should like to substitute the following for the first sentence of the draft report:-

4.

"A deterioration in the internal security situation

might lead to a mass influx from China into the Colony; under these circumstances the internal security situation could get rapidly out of control and the effective reinforcement of the garrison in time might not be possible. In the unlikely event of an outright Chinese military invasion we could not defend Hong Kong. As indicated in our Interim Report...."

Finally, we should like to change the last sentence of paragraph 3 and substitute this:-

"With the planned withdrawal of our forces from

Singapore/Malaysia in the 1970s, our garrison will be at the end of a long line of communications. Although there is no intrinsic problem in supplying it from the United Kingdom its reinforcement would

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