TNAG-0308-FCO40-344-Contributions-of-Hong-Kong-for-costs-of-maintaining-military-1971 — Page 148

Registry No.

HK K 10/9

DEPARTMENT

Hong Kong Department

Date and time (G.M.T.) telegram should

reach addressee(s).

12/2/77

2355

TER

CURITY CLASSIFICATION

PRIORITY MARKINGS

(Date)

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

Flash

Immediate

Despatched

Triority Routine

C

IMMEDIATE

PRIVACY MARKING

XXXXXX In Confidence

En Clair. XXXXXX Code

Cypher

Security classification -if any

[

Privacy marking -if any

1.

[Codeword-if any]

SECRET

1710402

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Addressed to

Draft Telegram to:

HONG KONG

143

Colk

12105021

No.

(Date)

And to:-

Repeat to:-

Saving to:-

Distribution:-

FILES

HK Copies to:-

1040115

FED

Defence Dept

PS

PS to PUS

Sir L Monson

telegram ...............

And to

The Governor, Hong Kong

(date)

11/2 repeated for information to

Sir S Tomlinson Mr Wilford

Mr T J Brack

Treasury

Saving to

Your telno.85 and my telno 129

HowhowingÉROKNÍNOMBORS

DEFENCE CONTRIBUTION

There is of course a

1. Your paragraphs 8 and 11.

danger that Unofficial Members will regard the figure

of £8.5 million as a maximum contribution capable of

downward negotiation.

This is not the case.

Ministerial approval for this figure was secured on the

clear premise that this figure, although the maximum

that you could hope to negotiate locally, was at the

same time the minimum that would be acceptable to HMG.

It is therefore important that when you disclose the

FCO contents of our telegram No 113 you make it clear that

HMG had hoped for a substantially larger contribution,

particularly having regard to the healthy state of the

Colony's finances; but that taking into account the

heavy future financial a commitments facing Hong Kong,

'cont'd over

-

1

SECRET

AMG.