SECRET
37
Mr Wilford
GURKHAS IN HONG KONG
1.
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Your minute of 24 June. I believe what the Governor has in mind is as follows. In the revised version of the Working Party report which we have put to the PUS, proposition A2 has been amended to provide that the cost of the garrison to HMG should be halved and that this should be achieved partly by a reduction in the garrison, partly by cutting the reinforcement capability and partly by persuading the Hong Kong Government to pay a higher proportion of the cost. The Governor's twin aims are to retain a garrison of about 53 rds battalions and to ensure, if possible, that the Hong Kong Government is not asked to pay more then about the present contribution of £8 million per year. He is not however prepared to make the first of these points, about the scope of the reduction of forces, openly, as he maintains that this is a matter for professional advice from CBF Hong Kong. He calculates that if the reductions are concentrated on specialist units such as the artillery, which are mainly relevant to external defence and which are expensive and if the whole equation is reduced by cutting out a large part of the reinforcement capability which the MOD at present cost as part of the Hong Kong garrison, then it might be possible to achieve his twin aims and to satisfy HMG provided that, say, three of the remaining five battalions consisted of Gurkhas. By contrast since Gurkha soldiers cost about a of British ones, an all-British garrison which reduced the cost to HMG by half and required no more than an £8 million contribution from Hong Kong might be no larger than two or three battalions. Hence the Governor's insistence to the Secretary of State yesterday on the retention of the Gurkhas.
25 June 1974
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Sir D Watson Defence Dept.
Mr Elliott, PS/FUS
ACS
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.
M/%
P.A.
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6
10/17
SECRET
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