TNAG-0536-FCO40-631-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 117

D/MIN/WR/MP/282

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20 JANITO

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MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE

WHITEHALL LONDON SW1A 2HB

Telephone: 01 - 218

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Mr Tix ölk wh Mr Stuart

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6290. (Direct Dialling)

01-218 9000 (Switchboard)

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January 1975

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Many thanks for your letter of 28 December enclosing Frank Allaun's pamphlet which questioned, among other things, why we station forces in Hong Kong.

We maintain a garrison in Hong Kong because we are constitutionally responsible for protecting those who live and work there and whose safety and prosperity can be

threatened even without an overt Chinese attack which is the only threat which Frank Allaun's pamphlet apparently contemplates.

First, internal disorder, whether politically motivated or not, can break out unexpectedly and, as we learned in 1967, can prove very difficult for the civil police to control

unaided. Second, the cross-border incursions that occur from time to time could rapidly become more ambitious, and therefore more dangerous, if they could not be instantly contained by a military presence on the spot. Thirdly

and more generally, our military presence in Hong Kong is tangible evidence of the importance the Government attaches

to its constitutional responsibilities, and a total military withdrawal could not fail to be seen, both by the inhabitants

of Hong Kong and by its neighbours, as implying an end of our concern for the integrity and well being of the territory.

Tam Dalyell Esq MP

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