TNAG-0252-FCO40-288-Strength-of-Hong-Kong-garrison-1970 — Page 182

W(B)L 51-7406

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NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN.

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B.

and this does not

with altogether agree the Comment in the

penultimate paragraph

letto of

of your 15 September

084/990/1 (1468/4) Flag 20

Cim of

Pornex to Flag D

DP714/1 (170)

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(c) That the estimated annual cost of the

proposed post-1971 visits is, in

fact, £2,500-£3,000 and not, as stated in my letter of 27 August.

As regards (c) above, I mentioned in the same letter that the Ministry of Defence do not consider that they should be expected to find the funds required under this head. We take this to mean that they consider that the whole of the costs involved should be

Howww, borne by the Hong Kong Government. The

Λ amount involved is small and we propose to suggest to them that the Hong Kong

contribution to it should be taken into

account in the negotiations oven the new defence contribution agreement.

Visits of RAF combat aircraft

1970-71.

With my letter of 6 November to Norman-Walker I enclosed a copy of a note setting out proposals prepared by the Air Force Department for RAF training flight visits to Hong Kong during the period from March 1970

until the end of 1971. We have now heard

that the Chiefs of Staff and the Defence

Secretary have approved these proposals and that the Ministry of Defence are prepared to meet the small additional costs that they will

involve. The proposals were approved in the form of the enclosure to this letter and they do not differ substantially from those already made known to you.

We are taking your letter to me TSX 1/57 of 13 January as authority to inform the Ministry of Defence of your acceptance of their proposals for RAF training flight visits both during the period up to the end of 1971 and thereafter. In so doing we are making the following points :

(a) that you are accepting the proposals

because you see no practicable alternative means of obtaining

fighter cover for the Colony after March 1970.

(b) that the extent of the fighter cover

envisaged in the proposals is the barest minimum required and we very

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