ん
SECRET
it
(with assistance from H.M.G. where necessary). Where on occasions.
U.K. forces have been needed for internal security the practice
(as restated in the inter-departmental ruling quoted in para 10 of
the Annex) has been to require the territory to reimburse the
Unit's extra" (or "extra budgetary") costs of the visits so employed;
is a new concept to talk in terms of a territory meeting the full
budgetary cost. In addition a few territories have contributed
towards "Commonwealth defence generally"; Hong Kong is one of these.
26. In Hong Kong the development of the local forces police
and military has largely reached the limit for the role such
(The Police Force consists of 10,000
all ranks, who are overwhelmingly
Chinese in composition.
There is also
The Volunteer
a Volunteer
Price Ressur
Defence Force consists of some 900 men,
of whom two thirds are Chinese. There is also an auxiliary Air Face unit equipped with Helicoplets).
G
reat (China), local
ibility because they
in an emergency
on them. We need
1 forces in such
anu internal threat that
vitiates MOD attempts to attribute a purely internal security role
for elements in our forces and to assess on this basis what contri-
bution Hong Kong should pay (paras 9-13 of Speaking Notes).
Defence
and internal security are inextricably linked in Hong Kong and this
has been the case throughout the Colony's history. Since 1863 the
Colony has met its obligation to contribute to the military forces
(and elsewhere) maintained there by H.M.G. through an annual contribution to
defence which has varied from an agreed percentage of revenue to a
fixed sum negotiated from time to time. There seem no good argu-
mentfor varying that arrangement. There is reason to think from
discussions at official level that the Treasury may have some
sympathy for this view and may not support the Ministry of Defence arguments.7
28.
In the course of official discussions on this paper the
SECRET
/Treasury
1
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