TNAG-0536-FCO40-631-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 139

CONEMDEMATIAL

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

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Your reference

Head of DS11

D of DP(C)

FCO(Head of HK10D)

RECLAV RECSTRY N

- 8 JAN1975

Our reference

Date

D/DS6/46/66/1 6 January 1975

NKKIO

Руп

HONG KONG

а

1.

I am replying to your DS11/6/7 of 2 January.

(NO SOMB

2. I had no comment on Mr Hawtin's PQ. But correspondence of the kind now proposed offers more scope for argument than that afforded by the conventions of a PQ answer, and take full advantage of it. I agree that a full rehearsal of the arguments for a continuing military presence in Hong Kong could give rise to awkward foreign policy questions but I wonder if the reply could not go a little further than it does as it is presently drafted? The role of the garrison is indeed internal security and the containment of cross-border incursions but the reticlau for its presence is surely a political one in the sense that it is a tangible sign of the importance HMG attaches to its constitutional responsibility for Hong Kong; and that total military withdrawal would imply such a lessening of HMG's interest as both to dishearten the inhabitants and to tempt the Chinese into some precipitate move.

3. If you and other addressees agree to saying something on this aspect, then the reply might be redrafted somewhat on the lines attached. Incidentally, you will note that the proposed redraft does not mention the illegal immigration question, although I quite take the point about the internal security significance of it. But I do not know what in fact is now done to illegal immigrants, i.e. are they merely identified and allowed to remain, or are some of them still sent back to China? If the latter, then I would suggest the point need not be mentioned in the reply since it might seem inappropriate in the context to indicate that part of the garrison's job is to send back refugees from a tornitritian state.

Hotacicanan

5

LAST

REF.

NTAT

REF.

Molo

L

(10)

Me-Maurin

Аншил

AJ H WARD

ош

DS6

MB Ext 2241

COM

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