TNAG-0308-FCO40-344-Contributions-of-Hong-Kong-for-costs-of-maintaining-military-1971 — Page 137

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FINALLY, I SAID THAT I FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO AGREE THAT DEFENCE CONTRIBUTIMIOS SHOULD NOT BE SET FROM TIME TO TIME ON THE BASI

CF AT LEAST SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES SEMICOLON IF ONLY TO PREVENT

EXCESSIVELY DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE AMOUNT TO BE CONTRIBUTED

DEVELOPING HERE AND IN LONDON EACH TIME THE MATTER CAME UP CV THIS BASIS, I COULD STILL THINK OF NO BETTER PRINCIPLE THAN

THE ONE I HAD SUGGESTED TO THEM.

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6. UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS, IN RESPONSE TO MY ENQUIRIES, HAD NOTHING

THEY WISHED TO ADD AT THIS TIME TO THEIR SUBMISSIONS.

THEY HAD,

INDEED, LITTLE TO SAY AND LARGELY CONTENTED THEMSELVES WITH

LISTENING TO ME IN A RATHER RESIGNED BUT FAIRLY RELAXED MANNER.

ONE REMARKED THAT AT LEAST THEY WOULD RECEIVE SOME RECOGNITION

OF THE VALIDITY OF THE ARGUMENTS THEY HAD PUT FORWARD. (THE ARGUMENTS CONTAINED IN PARA. 7 OF THEIR PAPER NEED A RESPONSE FROM

YOU AND I AM AFRAID I AM JUST NOT IN A POSITION TO COUNTER THEM

FROM INFORMATION AVAILABLE HERE). THEY ASKED TO MEET ME AGAIN

WHEN A REPLY TO THEIR SUBMISSION HAD BEEN RECEIVED. I NATURALLY

AGREED.

7. IT WAS FINALLY LEFT THAT A REPLY FROM LONDON BE AWAITED BEFORE

THE MATTER WAS TAKEN FURTHER.

8. I THINK THE ABOVE IN FACT PRETTY WELL COVERS MY COMMENTS

ON THE UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS SUBMISSION, BUT IF THERE ARE OTHER SPECIFIC POINTS WHICH YOU WOULD WISH ME TO ELABORATE, I WILL

OF COURSE TRY TO DO SO.

9. AS REGARDS THE FORM OF THE REPLY, I WOULD SUGGEST A SYMPATH- ETIC AND MODERATE TONE IN RESPONSE, BUT WITH WHATEVER COUNTER- ARGUMENTS IT IS DESIRED TO ADDUCE. FINALLY, I WOULD SUGGEST POINT-

ING OUT TO THEM THAT NOT MUCH PROGRESS CAN BE MADE UNLESS A

DEFINITE FIGURE IS SUGGESTED, AND ADVISING THAT THEY TRY TO AGREE

ON ONE. FAILING THIS, IT MIGHT BE POINTED OUT, HMG WOULD REALLY

HAVE NO PRACTICAL ALTERNATIVE BUT TO SET A FIGURE AND REQUIRE IT

TO BE MET: ALTHOUGH THIS WOULD BE A MEASURE WHICH HMG WOULD

SINCERELY REGRET HAVING TO RESORT TO. IT IS POSSIBLE, HOWEVER, FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID THIS MORNING, THAT THEY MIGHT PREFER THIS: BUT I CANNOT BE SURE.

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