TNAG-0060-FCO40-96-Strength-of-Hong-Kong-garrison-1968 — Page 213

Reference HWB 10/9

Sir Morrice James

Please see Mr. Hall's minute of February 19th below, covering a draft letter for Lord Shepherd to send to Mr. Healey about the possibility of a small number of R.A. F. planes being stationed permanently in Hong Kong.

2.

Although I too share Mr. Hall's view that the

chances of success are remote, I agree with him that we ought to ensure that the political case is placed before Mr. Healey in the study that is now about to be made within the Ministry of Defence of the future size and composition of the Hong Kong Garrison. I accordingly recommend that Lord Shepherd should write to Mr. Healey as in the draft proposed, even though this is a fairly forlorne hope.

EM.

(A.N. Galsworthy)

19th February, 1968

Sir A. Galsworthy,

My own view, after studying these papers, is

that the case for deciding to station R.A.F. fighters

in Hong Kong permanently now has not been made out.

It may turn out that we ought to do so after the

withdrawal of our present air forces from Singapore

and Malaysia, or when the rundown of our forces

there is more advanced. Or it might become necessary

to send fighters to Hong Kong quickly if the Chinese

began the harassing tactics foreshadowed in

paragraph 5 of the Governor's Saving despatch No.709.

But for the present pace the Governor

have thought we ought to rely on the existing

arrangement, viz. that aircraft based on Singapore

should visit Hong Kong periodically. As the Chiefs

of Staff recognise (see paragraph 2 of Mr. Mayne's

letter of 9th February) there may be over-riding

political reasons for deploying fighters to Hong

Kong from time to time, but with great respect I

question whether these reasons exist at the moment.

/2.

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I should