TNAG-0477-FCO40-542-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 71

or

1.5.

b. Army

>

(1)

Immediate readiness to assist the Police in any or all their duties, particularly when arms and explosives are being used.

(2) The provision of cordons for FOLMIL operations.

(3)

(4)

Guarding of military (category A) key points.

Escorts for essential administrative services.

(5) Protection of service families.

(6) Confidence patrolling in remote and rural areas.

Provision of specialist equipment (eg engineer

(7) plant).

The Immediate Requirement. Of the Army's responsibilities, immediate readiness to assist the Police is overwhelmingly the most important. It has been the established and highly successful practice in Hong Kong for the Army to provide assistance to the Police from the very outset of an emergency situation. There can be no question of waiting until the Police are over-stretched, exhausted and discredited before, troops are deployed. Indeed, the early deployment of troops into conveniently placed holding or assembly areas is aimed specifically at preventing this happening and of avoiding a Northern Ireland type situation in which, if troops had to take part, they would have the additional disadvantage of being in continual and close contact with crowds whose language they did not speak. Annex B shows the exceptional concentration of population in the various urban areas of Hong Kong, the ratio of Police to civilians in those areas and the absolute minimum scale of troops needed to be immediately .available to assist these Police should trouble break out. The

requirement can be summarised as follows:

a. Hong Kong Island

b.

Kai Tak Airport

Kowloon

(excluding Kai Tak Airport)

d.

Tsuen Wan

? a

one battalion or equivalent.

two companies.

two battalions, with one on the West side in reserve for Shanshuipo, Mong Kok and the Kowloon peninsula, and one in the North-East for the area of Kwun Tong, Won Tai Sin and Kowloon city. This is a higher ratio than Hong Kong Island because it has always been more troublesome in the past.

two companies

4

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