CONFIDENTIAL
Commonwealth Office that the fence was simply a measure to control illegal immigration. Whey share the ilong Kong Covernment's view that it was, in fact, a measure to defend the security of the Colony against an external threat, armed at least, if not actually military, as the annex shows, and that as such its cost should not be a charge on the Hong Kong Government. In the view of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Hong Kong Government have, in fact, already net any share of this obligation which might reasonably be attributed to them in that they have met the cost (amounting to approximately £69,000) of labour engaged in the erection of the fence and of compensation paid to the owners of the land taken over for the construction of the fence.
8. The Ministry of Defence summarise their position as follows: --
De
BORDER WORKS
Telegram 1320 indicates that the primary purpose of the fence was to control entry to the Colony other than of a military threat.
It would in any event be difficult to conceive such a fence being built as a serious defence against an external military threat. Indeed, the many incidents chronicled in the attached confidential report compiled by the long long Government on the disturbance appeared to have been designed to cause maximum harassment and disruption in the border areas, rather than to pose a serious external military threat.
The undertaking in llall's letter of 4 October 1967 was given five weeks after the Commonwealth office had received long long telegram 1320 of 29 August 1967. This assurance was accepted by the KOD and it would appear that the Commonwealth Office, if they wore prepared to assure the LOD that the costs would not fall on Defence Votes, were explicitly accepting that they should be borne elsewhere.
9. At an early stage during the 1967 disturbances, two Gurkha battalions were deployed on the frontier, where they dug in. It proved necessery for some work to be done to protect these troops and the Army put the necessary works in hand, By October/November 1967, it had become evident that there was a continuing necd for the deployment of troops on the frontier and basic requirements such as latrines, ablutions, cookhouses, observation posts, bunkers, etc. were constructed at military expense under Operation HIGHLAND BONNET. The Ministry of Defence has been seeking to recoup this expenditure from the Hong Kong Government which has, however, declined to accept the charge.
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10. In 1968, under opcration "Spring Clean" certain works scrvices were also required to refurbish other border positions which had fallen into disrepair, and six of these positions were reconstructed. By this time the undertaking of works services at
CONFIDENTIAL
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