COFIDENTIAL
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16 April, 1971. 19/4
I am writing in the hope that you may be able to help us over a point which has orisen in the course of negotiations which are at prosent in train with the Hong Kong Government about the Colony's contribution towards the cost of our garrison there.
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The matter of the Hong Kong defonce contribution has always been a sensitive issue in our relations with the Colony and we are meeting with considerable opposition from the unofficial members of the Governor's Executive Council in our current attempts to persuade them to make what we roşură as a reasonably enhanced contribution towards the substantially higher costs of maintaining the Garrison over the next five years. The unofficial members have now made written representations on the subject to H... in which they set out their arguments in support of their attitude.
One paragraph of their representations reads es. follows:
"During his visit to Hong Kong in January 1970, Mr Heath, the precont Prime Minister, when discussing the policy of withdrawing troops from Singapore, stated that Britain earned some £300 million from the Par East and could well afford to maintain defence forces in this area."
CONFIDENTIAL
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