TNAG-0478-FCO40-543-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 73

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PAPER NO 23

THE BRITISH DEFENCE EFFORT OUTSIDE NATO: DIEGO GARCIA

SCOPE FOR ECONOMIES:

1. Our major commitments outside NATO currently cost about £155 m a year. This is spent principally on Cyprus (£58 m),

Hong Kong (£42 m), Malta (£20 m ), Gibraltar (£14 m) and Five Power Defence Arrangements (£13 m). The Cyprus and Malta figures include £20 m in respect of forces declared to CENTO.

2. We cannot abandon our commitments to certain Dependent

Territories - Gibraltar, Belize and the Falkland Islands

at least until we can neutralise the threat from Spain, Guatemala and the Argentine respectively. Nor is there much scope for reductions in the present level of forces there. However, it is questionable whether we could indefinitely maintain the illusion

that we are capable of defending the Falkland Islands with the tiny

detachment there.

3. We must also retain forces in Hong Kong in order to maintain internal security and confidence. However, it may be possible to

reduce the forces somewhat and to give up the RAF reinforcement capability. Our role in the Five Power Defence Arrangements

could also probably be reduced to a minimum. Our partners in

the Arrangements are now expecting this, following preliminary consultations with them in June. Although our commitment to Brunei costs us nothing, there would be some advantage in negotiating an end to it which we could probably do in a year or

two

•

4. The reductions in paragraph 3 would enable us to reduce our RAF staging facilities at Gan, Masirah and Cyprus. Our presence in Cyprus would then be of more value for its contri- bution to CENTO, the logistic support of UNFICYP and the indirect support of NATO's Southern Flank than to us nationally; the future of the Sovereign Base Areas is discussed in paper No 29.

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