1
TOP SECRET
73 major units
Army
Navy
HUN
2
frigates
5
1
R.A.F.
coastal minesweepers small tanker
6 Whirlwind helicopters.
Ministers have also approved the stationing of a small unit of fighter aircraft in Hong Kong, "subject to further examination of the possibility that these aircraft might be
manned and serviced from local resources.
19. The full budgetary cost of the forces we now maintain in Hong Kong is about £20 million a year; it is estimated that after 1971 it will be about £25 million a year (excluding the cost of a small unit of fighter aircraft, the provision of which is under examination). In cash and services Hong Kong currently contributes to defence at the rate of
£5 million per annum under an agreement which runs until March, 1971.
C. BRITISH RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities to People
20. We have a responsibility to safeguard the welfare and interests of the people of Hong Kong; about half of these
are aliens.
21. A clear responsibility extends to the following
categories:-
(a) About 46,000 British subjects and Commonwealth
citizens of non-Chinese race, of which about 15,000 at the present time are members of the armed forces and their families (the Gurkha troops and their dependents are included in this category).
(b) About half (cr 1.9 million) of the Chinese
population who have, or are entitled to
claim, the status of Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies.
/22.
TOP SECRET
Page 135Page 136
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.