TNAG-0538-FCO40-633-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 106

CONFIDENTIAL

3RD DRAFT

states about each other's political and military intentions.

Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR)

25. After a NATO initiative, and following exploratory talks

during the first part of 1973, substantive East/West negotiations

on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions began in Vienna

in October 1973. The objective of the talks, agreed by all

Governments concerned, is "to contribute to a more stable relation-

ship and to the strengthening of peace and security in Europe".

The objective of any agreement reached will be to provide

undiminished security for both East and West at a lower level of

forces.

26. The main concern of the Alliance is that the Warsaw Pact's

conventional ground forces in Central Europe (the area covered by

the negotiations) significantly outnumber those of the West in

manpower and major equipments (see paragraphs 3-5 and 7 above).

In addition, the Warsaw Pact has considerable geographical

advantages which would enable any Soviet troops withdrawn as a

result of an MBFR agreement to return swiftly to forward positions

across only 400 miles of land with a choice of many good

reinforcement routes. Similar forces withdrawn by the United

States would have to cross 3,000 miles of ocean.

27. The Allied negotiators have therefore proposed that the

eventual outcome of the negotiations should be that each side

should reduce its conventional ground forces manpower to a

"common ceiling" and that such reductions should take into

account current disparities in combat capability. NATO has

suggested that the first phase of reduction leading towards

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CONFIDENTIAL