TNAG-0115-FCO40-151-Departmental-briefs-for-Commonwealth-Prime-Minister-s-and-ot-1969 — Page 78

CONFIDENTIAL

state that in our view it is not the Chinese intention to take

over Hong Kong by force and that we intend to remain there.

We should not say anything that could be taken to imply that we were contemplating withdrawal or negotiations with the Chinese

about the future of the Colony.

Defence

5. Hong Kong cannot be defended against a determined Chinese

attack, except perhaps by the use of nuclear weapons.

There

are no plans for the reinforcement of Hong Kong against external aggression, and the external role of the garrison is to identify aggression. Local opinion, while probably under no illusion about the ability of the present garrison to resist for long, regards the existence of British troops deployed to guard the

frontier as an assurance of our intention to maintain our

position in the Colony.

6. The present garrison in the Colony consists of 6 major

Army units and three coastal minesweepers.

Fighter air cover

is provided from Singapore. Her Majesty's Government's decision to withdraw their forces from Singapore and Malaysia by the end of 1971 will mean that it will thereafter not be possible to reinforce the Hong Kong garrison from those areas in time

of need. This situation will entail keeping a higher level

of forces in the Colony itself.

CONFIDENTIAL