TNAG-0541-FCO40-636-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 120

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

*** Our Ref.:

SCR 1/951/75

來函檔號 YOUR REF:

(68)

Dear Laurence.

SECRET

RECEIVED

REGISTRY No.52

24 JUN1975

190

COLONIAL SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

18th June, 1975

Pl copy heter Rotron, IS 8

RE

NEX.

REF.

(168)

Further to my letter dated 23rd May 1975, the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong has not responded to our enquiries about the conditions on which the equipment on Tai Mo Shan could be transferred to the Hong Kong Government after the RAF pull out. the matter be taken up with Washington?

(i)

What we need to know urgently is:-

Could

whether in principle the U.S. Government would have any objection to the Hong Kong Government taking over the equipment, probably on 1st April 1976, and using it for air traffic control purposes;

(ii) whether the U.S. authorities would agree

that spares for the equipment should be provided on a commercial basis to Cable and Wireless who, we propose, would operate the equipment on behalf of the Hong Kong

Government.

(This is our normal practice in

the case of radar equipment utilised by the Civil Aviation Department.)

Our preliminary approaches all indicate that the Americans are likely to agree to these proposals but we have not been able to obtain any authoritative statement from them. If they feel that some sort of formal agreement would be appropriate we would, of course, be happy to discuss this with them. We shall need the equipment until the refurbished Marconi 264 is installed

(please see my letter dated 23rd May 1975) and this is likely to be in about two years time, if all goes well.

P.L. O'Keeffe, Esq., CVO,

wer

Youn

Bin

(L. M. Davies)

Secretary for Security

Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

London S.W.1.

C.S. 41A

SECRET

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