MS.
TOP SECRET
2
United Kingdom to Hong Kong must, particularly
in view of the distances involved, appear as a
political act, whether we wish it or not and
would tend to exacerbate any confrontation with
China. By removing the fighters we shall have
deprived ourselves of the chance of dealing
immediately with any intrusion into Hong Kong
air space, even if such intrusion was intended
simply for propaganda purposes. With a force
on the spot we have a less invidious choice:
this force could deal with local events without
the appearance of crisis action and we should
still presumably have the option of reinforcing
from the United Kingdom if events required it
or if we wished to make the gesture referred
to at the end of your paragraph 4.
4. I am sending a copy of this minute to the
Commonwealth Secretary.
No comments yet.
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