Hongkong Standard
1/1/10/11
Defenceco
under
attack
HONGKONG'S new Defence Agreement which will cost a massive $580 million over the next five years came under fire yesterday.
Kaifong leaders and Urban Councillors attacked the huge increase as too high and "the last straw
The Financial Secretary, Mr C.P. Haddon-Cave, told the Legislative Council yesterday that Hongkong would contribute about $580 million towards defence over the next five years - $300 million up on the 1966 agreement.
Many community leaders are not persuaded by the Financial Secretary's claim that the huge bill will be balanced by the return of 520 acres of land to Government. Mr Haddon-Cave said the actual cash contribution would be $174 million or less than a tenth of the overall cost and that the rest would be paid in “kind.”
He explained that in "kind" meant $246.5 million would be spent on works which would revert to Hongkong and $159.5 million on maintaining servicemen's buildings. Mr Haddon-Cave said it had been estimated that the direct economic benefit to Hongkong from the forces stationed here was about $116. million a year.
But the chairman of the Council of Kaifong Associations, Mr Cheung Kam-tim, said he was
not
convinced. "The new
agreement is just like the
Hongkong is prosperous only on the surface, he said, and still had lots of worries.
Urban Councillors Peter P.F. Chan and Dr Denny Huang also agreed that the amount was too high.
However, while Mr Chan suggested it was necessary to contribute to "some sort of garrison" Dr Huang claimed there was no need for a large force here and that Britain should bear the entire cost.
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old one," he said.
He pointed out that although the bill had been split into two types of contribution "the amount Hongkong has to pay is more or less the same.'
Mr Yan Chi-kit of the Hongkong and Kowloon Joint Kaifong Research Council, described the increase as the last straw.”
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Souch China Morning Post
22/12/7/
X
Britain seeks big
im
increase in
H.K. defence bill
By JOE VEIGA
The United Kingdom Government is asking Hongkong to pay £60 million, or roughly $840 million, in contribution to defence costs for the Colony over the next five years.
This information reached the S.C.M. Post yesterday from impeccable sources in London who had been asked the reasons for the long delay in announcing a new agreement.
The Hongkong Government would neither confirm nor deny this yesterday.
"We have no comment to make on the substance of your report," an official spokesman said.
"However. as you know negotiations have been going on between Hongkong and the U.K. for some months and an announcement will be made as soon as a firm agreement is reached."
The British request means Hongkong must pay £12 million a year for five years, or £7 million more annually than it has been paying in the past four years under an agreement which expired six months ago.
"The U.K. Government is pressing for the fresh payment although it has been
emphasised Hongkong cannot afford so much money due to heavy social services and a lot of other bills,” according to the London sources.
"Whitchall has been warned there will be a public outcry leading to any number of possible consequences if Hongkong is ridden roughshod over this issue. So far this point seems to have had little impact."
The U.K. Government's argument is that costs have gone up considerably since the last £5 million agreement was concluded in 1966.
£140 million
It estimates that in the next five years it will have to spend £140 million to keep troops in Hongkong.
This works out at £28 million a year, or £11 million more – than its 1967-71 annual expenditure of £17 million.
What Hongkong is being asked to do is to raise its contribution from one-third to half the British cost.
now
Since 1950-51 Hongkong has made an annual contribution to this cost, but, then it was only £1 million a year. This rose to £1.5 million annually from 1958 to 1964.
In November, 1964, in addition to the payment of £1.5 million. Hongkong agreed to help finance the Army and RAF building programme here to a maximum of £6 million over six years.
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the agreement sewn up, he told Parliament:
"It has not been easy for Hongkong with their great social problems to their defence contributions."*
increase
On Budget Day in February this year, the then Financial Secretary. Sir John Cowperthwaite. announced that negotiations on defence costs had been held up because the British Government had not yet worked out how much they were going to spend on Far East defente.
Thus, he added. Hongkong's Budget estimates had been calculated on the assumption that defence costs would be the, same as before.
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South China Morning lost
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Britain ups the ante
on HK defence
There was not much doubt that Britain was going to ask Hongkong to pay more towards the upkeep of the local garrison when the current four- year agreement ended this year. The $64 question was how much more.
It was obvious that costs had risen and with the rundown of the British bases in Singapore and Malaysia and the transfer of the headquarters, Brigade of Gurkhas, and other defence units to Hongkong that Britain's defence expenditure here had increased.
Moreover, when the shrewd minds of the British Treasury surveyed the Hongkong scene they undoubtedly recognised that however symbolic the Garrison was as a deterrent to aggression it played an obvious part in bolstering local confidence and, in turn, ensuring prosperity.
None would deny Hongkong grows more prosperous each year and this is reflected as much in our worldwide trade as in the buoyant revenues that are recorded in our budget.
But there will be understandable shock at the extent to which the British Government now proposes to increase Hongkong's contribution. From less than £4 million a year to £12 million is a sizeable leap which seems to take no account of the increasingly heavy social obligations which Hongkong is assuming on behalf of its people, the most noteworthy of which are the Public Assistance scheme and the expansion of secondary education, not to mention improved housing schemes, exceptionally heavy expenditure on water supply, public health, and universal primary education.
It may be felt in Britain that Hongkong too often exaggerates its difficulties, be they trade, economic, social or political.
But while there may be a case for asking Hongkong to pay a higher contribution, to squeeze $840 million from a territory still encompassed with major social problems and assuming all its own burdens is both unreasonable and unjustifiable.
Hongkong remembers with disgust the swingeing charge made by the Admiralty for the return of the dockyard lands more than a decade ago and it is difficult to resist the conclusion that in deciding its charges Britain is too apt to take advantage of a colonial administration which feels obliged to fight its battles behind closed doors instead of publicly and noisily as politicians like Mr Dom Mintoff did recently.
The last thing Hongkong wants is a public `outcry over defence costs. The Garrison is widely appreciated and excellent relations exist between the people of Hongkong and the men of the armed forces and it would be unfortunate if a tight-fisted demand by Britain for an excessive contribution led to locai ill-feeling.
Hongkong will give full support to Government in its efforts to press for a substantially lower figure than that requested by Britain.
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