TNAG-0179-FCO40-215-Strength-of-Hong-Kong-Garrison-1970 — Page 114

DP 15/393/1

SECRET

Hong Kong Department

38

28 August, 1969

ACCOMPANIED SERVICE IN HONG KONG

You asked in your letter TSX 5/62 of 13 March that we should

inform the Ministry of Defence that you no longer had objection to the policy of accompanied service for existing British teeth units in the Hong Kong garrison.

The question of accompanied service for existing British units in the Hong Kong garrison was submitted to the Chiefs of Staff on 14 August and it was agreed that the existing British garrison of Hong Kong Colony and its replacements should continue to serve on accompanied tours. We have, however, requested that we should be consulted about accompanied service for British units which may in future replace any of the existing Gurkha units in the Hong Kong

garrison.

You will wish to know that the annually recurrent costs, on an accompanied basis, of the 31 units (and their support) which constitute the British element in the existing garrison are estimated by the Ministry of Defence to be £7.06 million budgetary costs (including £4.39 million local costs) This may be compared with £6.85 million budgetary costs (including £3.64 million local costs) for a garrison with 23 units unaccompanied (assuming that the British battalion on Hong Kong Island remained accompanied) The decision

to allow the existing "teeth arm" units to continue on an accompanied basis will therefore mean foregoing potential savings of £0.2 million in budgetary and £0.75 million in local costs. As against this, however, a switch to unaccompanied tours would have involved an estimated capital expenditure of £0.23 million in budgetary and local costs for building additional single accommodation in Hong Kong and possibly considerable capital expenditure for the provision of barracks in the United Kingdom.

His Excellency

Sir David Trench, GCMG., MC.

(W. S. Carter)

SECRET