TNAG-0309-FCO40-345-Contributions-of-Hong-Kong-for-costs-of-maintaining-military-1971 — Page 61

Registry No.

| SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

SECRET

DRAFT

CABINET PAPER

Type 1 +

From

To:-

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

•

PRIVACY MARKING

.In Confidence

CABINET

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

DEFENCE AND OVERSEAS POLICY COMMITTEE

HONG KONG DEFENCE CONTRIBUTION

MEMORANDUM BY THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY

1. In agreement with my colleagues in the

Treasury, the Ministry of Defence and the

Department of the Environment, and after

consultation with the Governor, have been

-seeking an annual defence contribution from Heng

Kong of £8.5 million

m;

for 5 year's

I

2. The estimated cost of the United Kingdom

Armed Forces in Hong Kong in 1971/72 is £26.4 million

(£21.8 million running costs of the units in the

Colony, £2.4 million capital works and £2.2 million

maintenance and minor works). The cost of capital

works is forecast to rise over the succeeding years

to a peak of £4.6 million in 1974/75. Over half

the total cost is foreign exchange expenditure.

3. The Unofficial Members of the Governor's

propofectant to Executive Council were at first most reluctant to

million.

agree to anything more than £5.5 million (the

equivalent after devaluation of the 25 million

out of a total cost of £16 million decided upon

when the last Agreement was negotiated in 1966)

SECRET

/and it