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ANNEX B to DP 29/70 (Revised Final)
1.
DRAFT SUBMISSION FROM CDS TO SECRETARY OF STATE
FUTURE COMMAND ARRANGEMENTS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA
I attach a paper setting out the Chiefs of Staffs' views on the command structure for the UK military presence in SE Asia after 1971. You will see that the aim of our paper has been to consider the military factors involved, in preparation for discussions with the other countries concerned. Such discussione, we feel certain, will be necessary before any final decision on this complex subject can be made.
2. In the paper we have considered three possible solutions to the command problem. We do not favour a fully integrated Five Power system because we believe that it would lead to military complications for all five countries and also an increased risk of involvement of our own forces in internal security operations. For this and other reasons we discard the five power system early
in the paper.
The paper then covers briefly the parallel UK and ANZ structures which would be needed if full ANZUK integration
proves to be unattainable. (We have initiated a separate study on this fall back position.) We then discuss in more detail the outline of an integrated three power ANZUK system. In both these latter solutions we envisage that it would be most important to set up a wide range of five power committees on such matters as training, communications and intelligence etc., which would help to weld the five powers together and provide the presentational appearance of a five power defence arrangement: this appearance would of course also be helped by the fact that the Integrated Air Defence System must be a five power system.
We see these five power committees developing from the present Advisory Working Groups.
3.
Our conclusions are that militarily the most satisfactory
command would be an integrated ANZUK structure with commanders and staff provided on a mutually agreed basis. It would be
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