TNAG-0254-FCO40-290-Contributions-of-Hong-Kong-for-costs-of-maintaining-military-1971 — Page 99

Sir L. Monson

SECRET

Reference........

HKK 10/9

28

21

Hong Kong Defence Contribution

I discussed this with Mr. Gaminara before he looked

into the figures in detail and agreed with him that it

would be tactically unwise to tell MOD at this stage that

the Governor has proposed the figure of £8m. The

procedure referred to by Mr. Gwynn in the first paragraph of his letter to you of 18 May is clearly a sensible way of approaching the problem but, for all that, I think it would be unreasonable to expect the Governor or anybody else to agree to a figure arrived at without regard to

the actual costs of the service establishments in Hong Kong. In any case, we do not yet know what the review of our policy in the Far East would produce.

2. I agree, therefore, that we should write to the MOD

on the lines of Mr. Gaminara's draft.

Евата

(E. 0. Laird)

Hong Kong Department

22 July, 1970

SECRET