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disorder. I do not think therefore that it is
realistic to seek to isolate a uniquely military
role for a services presence which insofar as it
is indispensable for the maintenance of morale
and confidence in the Colony is a buttress for
our position in all its aspects.
I should like to take up the point regard-
ing the difficulty of reinforcing the Colony with
fighters from the United Kingdom which the
Commonwealth Secretary made in his letter and to
which you referred in paragraph 4 of your reply.
In my view the issue is this: in the absence
of a regular fighter force in Hong Kong the
despatch of aircraft from the United Kingdom
to Hong Kong must, particularly in view of the
distance 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 airspace,
even if such intrusion was intended simply for
/propaganda
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