W(B)L 51-74 33
NOTHING TO BE Written IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
..In Confidence
DRAFT
To:-
R. Haynes, Esq., Ays(As)
Ministry of Defence (Royal Air Force),
Whitehall, S.W. 1.
Type 1 +
From
28
Mr. J. O. Moreton
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
-35 pones
I am sorry that it has not been possible to write to you earlier about the proposal to
station a unit of fighter aircraft in Hong Kong.. The proposal, as put to us by Whitmore in his letter DS8/39/8 of 5 February to Campbell, was relayed to the Governor of Hong Kong for his views which we have now received.
2.
The fact that it is planned to establish the fighter aircraft in Hong Kong by March
1970 presents the Governor with major and seemingly insuperable difficulties. He had not expected that any liability on this account would arise before 1971 by which date the new
defence contribution would have been negotiated. His intention was to "bury" in these over-all negotiations an element in respect of the unit, without the need to specify in dealing with the Hong Kong Legislature that funds were being voted for this specific purpose. The Governor considers (and we entirely agree with him) that it is essential he should avoid having to go to his Executive and Legislative Councils for additional funds for this purpose during the currency of the existing defence contribu- tion agreement. To do so would raise all the ill-feeling and animosity engendered when the existing contribution was negotiated; the prospects of their agreeing to vote the necessary funds would be remote; successful outcome of the negotiations on the post-1971 defence contribution would be seriously prejudiced. He has expressed the
and a
view that (so difficult and dangerous would this
would
course be he would rather forego the fighters
than attempt it.
13.
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