TNAG-0476-FCO40-541-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 61

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ii.

iji.

Treaty to maintain 55,000 men in BAOR and a

tactical air force in Germany. The BAOR

reductions would be relatively easy in an MBFR

context but would be contested outside it;

Alliance Consultation

Under North Atlantic Council Resolution CK(55)82,

we should have to inform the Council and the

appropriate military authorities of the changes we

contemplated in our force levels, and should have

to allow time for NATO commanders and the Council

to comment on our proposals. This examination

would be carried out rigorously and almost

certainly very critically on both the military

and political sides. The Dutch are currently

under severe censure both for the manner in which

they have presented their plans to restructure

their forces and for the cuts they wish to make;

MBER

Any proposal for force reductions in the MBFR area

would be the subject of additional scrutiny and

concern in NATO. In company with our Allies we

have pledged not to make unilateral reductions,

as such action, outside the MBFR framework, would

prejudice the chances of a successful outcome to

the negotiations and could lead rather to a series

of unco-ordinated Allied cuts unmatched by Soviet

reductions.

Present indications are that the

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