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(2)
ANNEX A to DP Note 27/67(A) (Flimsy Draft) (Concluded)
or we adopt Course B, and retain four Gurkha
battalions for deployment in Hong Kong permanently
from 1970 onwards.
(NOTE: In view of the importance to which Ministers attach to
our contribution to NATO, withdrawal of NATO units or 'double-
earmarking' them to meet the Hong Kong commitment has not been
considered).
Implications on the Arms Plot and UK Accommodation Plot
11.
We plan to changeover the armoured car squadron, the light regiment, and one infantry battalion in Hong Kong in the 1968/69
Arms Plot. The armoured car squadron will come from a regiment
with a permanent base in the UK, but if the light regiment and
infantry battalion have to go to Hong Kong unaccompanied, they
will each require a permanent base in the United Kingdom which
has not been provided for.
12. The infantry battalion we have selected in the Arms Plot for Hong Kong is already unaccompanied (in Cyprus) so that we would
have to select another because the former will be 'in baulk'.
Furthermore, we have nominated a battalion to occupy the barracks
due to be left vacant in the UK and alternative accommodation will
have to be found for it. We would therefore have to make a major
alteration to the 1968/69 Arms Plot which will inevitably involve
a chain reaction of implications.
13. All unaccompanied units in Hong Kong, and the units required
as backing in the United Kingdom, will require permanent accommo-
dation in the United Kingdom base. This will have considerable
implications on the long term United Kingdom accommodation plot.
A - 7
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