TNAG-0540-FCO40-635-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 248

SECRET

From: A J H WARD

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Main Building Whitehall London SW1A 2HB

Telephone 01-218 2241(Direct Dialling)

01-218 9000

(Switchboard)

Mr. Dihwiddy

too late for the meeting

200

Defence Secretariat 6

18

89

PA

3/3

A C Stuart, Esq.,

Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Dept., Foreign and Commonwealth Office LONDON SW1

67

Your reference

Our reference

Date

Д

D/DS6/46/66/1

February 1975

RECEIVED IN REGIST P0.51

12

6 MAR 1975

Stuart,

HONG KONG DEFENCE REVIEW RUN-DOWN

-

1. Thank you for your letter of 19 February, which I have discussed with Bryars and others concerned here.

2. We agree that the MOD representative on the working party in Hong Kong should take the opportunity, as you suggested, of raising with Hong Kong officials the question of run-down; and he has been briefed accordingly. The line he will take will be that run-down planning is now in hand in Hong Kong, and there may be need, in the period proceeding a new agreement, for planning action of a nature that we might not be able to keep covert; there would of course be prior notification to Hong Kong officials before any such action was taken. I should perhaps add, for the record, that in terms of major teeth-arm units the basis of current run-down planning would not appear to be caught by the provision in the existing agreement to which you refer in the third sentence of paragraph 1 of your letter.

3. Also for the record, may I mention that the transitional costs, as they have been defined in this context, relate to the composition rather than to the size of the 5 garrison (the second sentence of paragraph 2 of your letter refers) and that, in the context of the working party discussions, there is no "proposed reduced force" (the third sentence of paragraph 2 of your letter refers).

4. Copies go to Jackson and Doble (Defence Dept).

Your sincerely,

Andrewswan