TNAG-0478-FCO40-543-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 128

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THE FRIGATE IS WORTH 2 PATROL CRAFT TO HONG KONG AND

PERSONALLY ONALLY I AGREE WITH THIS VIEW PD OTHER SAVINGS MIGHT BE SHOWN IN SUPPORT CCSTS IF HMS TAMAR INVOLVEMENT IN FLEET SUPPORT AND MAI-

NTENANCE COULD BE REDUCED PD THE RAF CONTRIBUTION TO ECONOMIES

SHOULD TO MY MIND BE PRIMARILY IN RAF SIGNAL UNITS EG EARLY WARNING

RADAR AND SKYNET COMMUNICATIONS PD HELS SHOULD NOT BE TAMPERED

WITH AS THEY WERE INVALUABLE IN 1967 PD THERE MAY ALSO BE OTHER

MARGINAL SAVINGS IN SUPPORT COSTS WHICH CMM AS ALSO IN THE CASE

CF RN AND ARMY CHM MAY BE HELPED BY MORE RATIONALISATION OF

ADMINISTRATION ON A JOINT SERVICE BASIS PD

FOUR PD THE TEN PER CENT SAVING OF FOUR MILLION (REF A PARA 1A)

WOULD BE ON THE BASIS THAT CMM AS REINFORCEMENT COULD NOT BE

GUARANTEED CMM WE WOULD KEEP BRITISH INFANTRY BATTALIONS CLOSE

TO MMS AS EXPLAINED IN PARA THREE ABOVE PD 1 CONSIDER IT WOULD

STILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO DISPENSE WITH AT LEAST ONE PATROL CRAFT

AND A PROPORTION CF RN FLEET SUPPORT FACILITIES AND ALL RAF

ELEMENTS QUCTED UNDER THE EIGHT MILLIONIACPTION IN PARA THREE ASOVE POESTHEREFORE SEE SAVINGS OF AB CUT POINT FIVE MILLION

FROM THE RN CMM TWO POINT SEVEN MILLION FROM THE ARMY AND POINT

E. A chus,

THREE MILLION FROM THE RAF PO THE EXTRA POINT FIVE MILLION WOULD

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AND COULD COME FROM AN ANNUAL CUT BACK OF THE BUILDING PROGRAMME PD

FIVE PD IN CONCLUSION MAY I MAKE FCUR POINTS CLN.

ALPHA PD IN THE TIME AVAILABLE MY ASSESSMENT HAS INEVITABLY BEEN A ROUGH ONE AND PERHAPS IN PART IS BASED ON INTUITION CMM AND IT

MUST BE CHECKED BY A MORE CAREFUL STAFF STUDY PD SUT IF WE ARE

TO MAKE A SERICUS ATTENFT TO FIND A SOLUTION TO THIS DUFFICULT

PROBLEM I BELIEVE THAT SCHTHING IN THE CADER OF THESE

ECONCHIES SHOULD BE ATTEMPTED PD

BRAVO PD AS FAR AS SUPPORT CCSTS INVOLVING FACTORS UNRELATED

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TO THE STRICT INTERNAL SECURITY OF HONG KONG ARE CONCERNED

(REF A PARA 10C) CMN I WOULD SUPPORT GOVERNORS VIEW AND CONSIDER

ANY ITEMS IDENTIFIED OF PURLY UK INTEREST INCL SOME FLEET AND

RAF SIGNALS SUPPORT CHM CCSTS SHOULD BE SHOWN AS A SAVING AGAINST

THE FORTY TWC MILLION CUCTED PD

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