TNAG-0476-FCO40-541-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 89

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Further illustrations could be produced; but we believe that this

is not necessary.

134. The Finistry of Defence wish to emphasise that from the

military point of view such illustrative shifts of resources have

nothing to recommend them, and the reason for this is that such

an approach runs counter to the following:- the security of the

United Kingdom is inseparable from that of the Alliance; Britain's

contributions to each of the components of Alliance strategy,

to the maritime strategy in the SACLANT and CINCHAN areas, to the

land/air strategy on the Central Front and to the direct defence

of the United Kingdom, cannot from the military point of view be

reduced below the Critical level outlined in Option C and in

Annex L without undermining the confidence of the Allies in the

strategy. This being the case, it makes no military sense,

indeed it creates and compounds a military nonsense, to concen-

trate reductions in one area of defence activity and thereby

thoroughly weaken one of the components of Alliance strategy in

the interests of lessening the damage to another. Such action

would be relevant if one of the major components of NATO strategy

was independent of the others and therefore reducible without

significant damage to the whole structure. But from the military

point of view this is not the case, since all the Strategic

components are interdependent.

Conclusion

J

135. This Option has been presented to give Ministers a very broad

indication of the implications of attempts, which at first sight

might appear theoretically attractive, to redistribute resources

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